Aircrew from Air Force Reserve Command’s 908th Airlift Wing in Montgomery, Ala., proved that a C-130 could transport and orient an Army High Mobility Artillery Rocket System while airborne. Linking to the aircraft’s Joint Precision Air Drop System for GPS data, these airmen helped show that it is possible to initialize the HIMARS fire control system in flight, minimizing the rocket launcher’s set-up time on the ground. This “hot panel” capability allows strikes against time-sensitive targets and reduces system vulnerability, said Army Maj. Michael Fitzgerald of the HIMARS program. “The Air Force’s ability to transport equipment and personnel around the battlefield and to locations that wheeled transport cannot go is imperative to deliver ground-based firepower in a timely manner,” added Fitzgerald. Pending evaluation of flight data, this testing will culminate in a live-fire demonstration at White Sands Missile Range, N.M. (Maxwell report by Gene Hughes)
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.