Advisors with the 571st Mobility Support Advisory Squadron from Travis AFB, Calif., recently met with Honduran air force officials for the first time in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to identify potential mentorship areas. “The most important part of the experience was the opportunity to establish a relationship . . . that can be built upon in the future to help strengthen our partner nation’s capabilities,” said Lt. Col. Joseph Sanchez, 571st MSAS commander. After touring the Honduran air base’s facilities, the Travis airmen assessed the airfield’s communication and navigation aids and engine maintenance shop. They conferred with the Hondurans entirely in Spanish, which Sanchez described as “key” to a foundation of trust. The Hondurans conveyed keen interest in air traffic control modernization, formalizing a technical training school, as well as survival evasion resistance and escape training. The 571st MSAS is charged with building partner capacity throughout Latin America. (Travis report by MSgt. Michael Raffa and TSgt. Aaron Carrillo)
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.