Lt. Gen. Gary North, head of US Central Command Air Forces, uses comparisons that make the enormousness of the airpower role in operations in Southwest Asia easier to grasp. For instance, he compares the effort by theater airlift forces so far this year to moving “the equivalent of the city of Baltimore.” Or, he told Pentagon reporters Friday that if they placed the amount of cargo airlifted in theater in 18-wheel trucks, the trucks would stretch—end to end—from Washington to New York City.
Boeing’s receipt of the 10th lot contract award for the KC-46 Pegasus this week leaves just three lots left to complete the Air Force’s buy of the tanker, although a further buy of 75 additional aircraft as a “bridge” to the Next-Generation Aerial-refueling System (NGAS) seems increasingly likely.