Air Force C-17 airlifters fly nonstop from Pope Air Force Base, N.C., to Kazakhstan to airdrop 500 U.S. troops from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as well as 40 Asian troops during an exercise named Centrazbat ’97. Two aircraft airdrop cargo and vehicles. The C-17s are refueled three times en route during the 19-hour flight.
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.
