Nine C-17 airlifters from JB Charleston, S.C., air-dropped pallets and paratroopers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division in a massive joint-force deployment drill. “The exercise provided more than 500 operational and maintenance training objectives,” said Capt. Rob Cross of Charleston’s 437th Maintenance Squadron in an April 2 release. “The exercise let us practice Total Force integration on a whole new level,” he added. The mass airdrop on March 27, dubbed “Raging Moose,” gave Charleston’s 437th Airlift Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s associated 315th AW practice with close-formation flight and aerial refueling en-route to an “undisclosed” dropzone.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.