Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz has assigned Maj. Gen. Lawrence Wells to take command of 9th Air Force at Shaw AFB, S.C. He succeeds Maj. Gen. Stephen Hoog, who’s been in charge of 9th AF since last August. Wells comes to Shaw from Yongsan Army Garrison, South Korea, where he’s been deputy chief of staff for United Nations Command and US Forces Korea since July 2009. He is a command pilot with more than 2,500 flight hours in aircraft such as the F-16, KC-10, and U-2. (DOD release)
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.