Two Air Force units and a Marine Corps squadron are deploying to assist in the US-led fight against ISIS. A-10s and more than 500 airmen from the Idaho Air National Guard’s 124th Fighter Wing deployed on April 12 for the wing’s first major mission in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a wing release. F-16s and about 300 airmen from the 480th Fighter Squadron on April 7 also deployed from Spangdahlem AB, Germany, to join the fight, the base announced. Both units will operate from an undisclosed base in the Middle East. The Marine Corps this week deployed a squadron of EA-6B Prowler aircraft from Marine Corps Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron 4 to Incirlik AB, Turkey, to provide “an umbrella of protection to coalition aircraft and ground troops in the fight against ISIL,” US European Command said in an April 14 statement.
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.