Two 
expeditionary contingents, each comprising 12 F-22s and nearly 290 airmen, are back home at Holloman AFB, N.M., and Langley AFB, Va., after four-month tours in the Asia-Pacific theater. These overseas deployments—Holloman’s 7th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to Kadena AB, Japan, and Langley’s 27th EFS to Andersen AFB, Guam—were part of a normal rotation of US combat forces to that region. Both represented a first: Holloman’s first-ever F-22 deployment to the western Pacific, and Langley’s maiden F-22 dispatch to Andersen, after several rotational deployments to Kadena over the past several years. During their time at Kadena, Holloman’s F-22s trained alongside USAF F-15s and KC-135 tankers and Marine Corps F/A-18s and flew to South Korea for training. Among their activities, Langley’s F-22s participated in US Pacific Command’s Valiant Shield joint training exercise. Both contingents returned to the US in early October. (Andersen report by SSgt. Beth Del Vecchio) (Holloman report by Arlan Ponder) (Langley report by A1C Jason J. Brown)
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.