During a visit to Powidz AB, Poland, on June 21, the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein AB, Germany and the Polish air force’s 3rd Airlift Wing became sister units. Brig. Gen. Mark Dillon, 86th AW commander and his counterpart Brig. Gen. Tadeusz Mikutel, 3rd AW commander, signed a letter of intention during the visit, pledging both organizations to strengthen their alliance, advance interoperability, and improve mutual security and cooperation. Mikutel said his airmen “appreciate the cooperation with Ramstein” and “are looking forward to expanding that cooperation.” Powidz is home to Polish air force C-130Es that were formerly operated by the 86th AW before Ramstein transitioned to its new fleet of C-130Js and the phased out the C-130Es. (Powidz report by SrA. Amanda Dick)
The Air Force on March 12 awarded contract modifications worth a combined $2.4 billion to Boeing to procure an undisclosed number of E-7 Wedgetail as part of the program's engineering and manufacturing development phase and continue work on the airborne battle management aircraft’s radar.