Two C-130s and about 60 airmen from Air Force Reserve Command’s 910th Airlift Wing have returned home to Youngstown ARS, Ohio, after five weeks of supporting efforts in the Gulf of Mexico to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. From the time of their deployment to Stennis Airport, Miss., on May 1 until their return home on June 4, Youngstown aircrews flew 92 sorties with their two specially equipped C-130s, spraying 30,000 acres of Gulf waters with nearly 149,000 gallons of aerial spray dispersant to break up the oil. “We’re very proud to have supported this cleanup effort,” said Col. Fritz Linsenmeyer, 910th AW commander. Civilian airplanes are now performing the oil-dispersant mission in the Gulf. (Youngstown release)
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.