A new-build C-17 transport arrived at JB Lewis-McChord, Wash., for beddown, giving the Air Force 212 of the 223 C-17s that it is authorized to procure. Airmen from the 62nd Airlift Wing and Air Force Reserve Command’s 446th AW will jointly operate and maintain the new airlifter, which arrived on Oct. 6. More than 50 C-17s call Lewis-McChord home. The Air Force has ordered 218 of the 223 C-17s to date from Boeing. (Lewis-McChord photo caption by A1C Leah Young)
The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems matching $17.7 million contracts for an "Off-Board Sensing Station,” which is an unmanned aircraft that would extend a manned fighter’s sensing range and also potentially carry additional weapons for that aircraft. The cost-plus-fixed-fee contracts…