The Air 
Force has delivered more than 50,000 meals to Pakistan as part of international relief efforts in the wake of devastating floods. A C-130H crew operating with the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, delivered nearly 8,000 packages of Halal—meals prepared according to Islamic laws—to Islamabad July 31, marking the first international aid to reach Pakistan since monsoon floods devastated dozens of villages, reportedly killing 1,500 people. “We had a quick response from the time we were notified to the time the pallets were on the airplane,” said Capt. Robert Dodson, the C-130H aircraft commander. A C-17 from the 385th Air Expeditionary Group subsequently delivered more than 44,000 meals on Aug. 1. (Bagram report by TSgt. Drew Nystrom) (See Tuesday’s Associated Press report for more background on the flooding.)
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.