Members 
of the 305th Air Mobility Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s 514th AMW at JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., completed their first “elephant walk” surge exercise in nearly five years, launching 12 KC-10 tankers, one right after the other, over a 30-minute span. The training drill was meant to showcase the wings’ ability to generate aerial refueling sorties in large numbers to support a global strike mission. “With our high operations tempo and the recent events in Libya, we have been stretched thin, leaving little time to train,” said Lt. Col. Jimmy Shaw, 305th Operations Group deputy commander, in discussing the Dec. 20 drill. He added, “Practicing complex missions, such as large-formation refueling, makes us just that much better and more capable in situations where we may be called upon.” (McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst report by A1C Dennis L. Sloan)
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
