B-52s from Minot AFB, N.D., flew 40 conventional bombing sorties in four days without scrubbing a single sortie during Prairie Warrior in late November. “Just weeks after coming out of succeeding in a large-scale nuclear exercise, we accomplished our base’s largest conventional exercise of the year, and we crushed it,” said 5th Bomb Wing Commander Col. Jason Armagost in a Dec. 3 release. With 16 available B-52s, Minot’s 5th Bomb Wing flew 12 sorties the first day of Exercise Prairie Warrior, 10 sorties on both the second and third day, and eight sorties on the final day, dropping a total of 119 munitions, according to the wing. “A B-52’s normal flying rhythm is every other day,” said 69th Aircraft Maintenance Unit supervisor SMSgt. Paul Crisostomo. “Our ability to be able to fly a jet one day and turn around and fly it 12 hours later speaks volumes,” he added. Prairie Warrior ran Nov. 17-20.
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.
