KC-46 Tanker Loses Boom in Aerial Refueling
A US Air Force KC-46A Pegasus tanker conducts air-to-air refueling with a US F-16 over the Canadian Arctic during North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Arctic air defense exercise, Amalgam Dart 21-2, on March 24, 2021. (Photo by CANR NORAD)
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An Air Force KC-46 Pegasus tanker lost its boom Tuesday while refueling an F-22 Raptor fighter jet off the coast of Virginia. The War Zone reports the F-22 launched from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, and the KC-46 involved is based out of McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas. The tanker’s crew landed at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC, where it will “remain for the time being,” said John Van Winkle, a spokesman for the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.
Militarized zones now make up one-third of southern border involving land in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, reports Military Times. The new buffer zones are patrolled by at least 7,600 members of the armed forces, vastly expanding the US government presence on the border.
Roughly 70 Florida National Guard troops have been deployed to the newly built, remote immigration detention site deep in the Florida Everglades dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz,” as the Trump administration leans harder on the military to enforce its nationwide immigration crackdown, reports Military.com.
About 200 Marines are deploying to support US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Florida, reports Military Times. They are part of the 700 troops mobilized by DefSec Pete Hegseth after Homeland Security requested assistance May 9.
President Donald Trump said Monday the US will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv, according to Military.com. The Pentagon announced last week that it would hold back deliveries of some weapons because of concerns about declining US stockpiles.
The House Armed Services Committee’s version of the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill adheres to the $848 billion topline requested by the Pentagon, with few major changes, with one exception, reports Breaking Defense: the inclusion of $300 million for Ukraine, with the security assistance available at the president’s discretion.
According to the Dutch defense ministry, Dutch and Norwegian F-35 fighter jets will be stationed in Poland under NATO command to protect supplies of equipment to Ukraine, reports Defense News.
The UK government has signaled that further purchases of the F-35A stealth fighter remain under consideration, following confirmation that an initial batch of 12 aircraft will be drawn from existing F-35B procurement plans, reports UK Defence Journal.
Over the past two months, the US State Department has approved more than $3 billion in potential foreign military sales to European nations. These include a broad range of advanced weapons systems such as air-to-air missiles, ground-attack munitions, anti-tank weapons, and air defense platforms, reports UK Defence Journal.
South Korea has effectively abandoned its plan to acquire 36 additional Apache attack helicopters, shifting its defense priorities toward unmanned systems and advanced technologies, reports South Korea Times, further noting the aircraft’s 66% cost increase from the first order around a decade ago. The $2.2 billion deal was canceled after the funding was nearly zeroed out in a supplemental budget that was approved last Friday, reports The War Zone.
Air & Spaces Forces Magazine reports the Air Force wants $141 million and the Space Force wants $13 million for enlistment bonuses in their FY26 budgets — each roughly tripling the amounts in their FY25 budgets. Initial enlistment bonuses as large as $75,000 help bring recruits into “the hardest to fill skills” such as special warfare, explosive ordnance disposal, cybersecurity, missile and space systems, security forces, and cryptologic language analysis, according to budget documents.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last week includes nearly $25 billion for the Coast Guard, the largest single funding commitment in the service’s history, reports sailingscuttlebutt.com. Announcing the funding, a Coast Guard press release echoes other agencies’ shout outs of “appreciation for the leadership of the Administration, including President Trump and Secretary Noem, and leaders in Congress.”
The House approved VA budget for FY26 would allow doctors at the VA, for the first time, to recommend cannabis to patients in states where it is legal, although VA doctors cannot prescribe cannabis, which is banned under federal law, reports Stars and Stripes.
Voluntary retirements and resignations are expected to trim 30,000 Veterans Affairs positions by the end of September, forgoing plans for forced resignations to reduce the size of government, reports Military Times. Already, about 17,000 VA jobs have been vacated since Jan. 1 through deferred resignations, retirements, normal attrition, and department hiring freezes. Another 12,000 posts are expected to be cleared out over the next two and a half months.
The Air Force has suspended plans to use Johnston Atoll, an isolated Pacific island, as a test site for landing rockets as it considers alternative sites, reports Stars and Stripes. A draft environmental assessment was anticipated by April but delayed publication as opposition by environmental groups surged.
The remote Eielson Air Force base near Fairbanks, AK, has been selected as the first US military installation with a nuclear microreactor under a DoD pilot project, reports Stars and Stripes. Pentagon officials hope to have it built and running by late 2028.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels sank the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier Magic Seas on Monday, reports Military.com. The carrier was attacked Sunday with drones, missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms, forcing its crew of 22 to abandon the vessel.
The next Ford-class aircraft carrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), faces a two-year delay, leaving the Navy with 10 carriers for about a year, USNI News reports. Scheduled for delivery this month, it was delayed until March 2027 so to incorporate new technologies to catch aircraft landing on the carrier’s deck and to weapons elevators that move ordnance through the ship.
The Royal Navy has put its first autonomous minesweeping systems into service, reports UK Defence Journal. The system, known as SWEEP, can be operated remotely from land or sea-based command centers.
Contracts:
AECOM – Baker Global Services JV, Arlington, Virginia (W912DW-25-D-1017); Burns & McDonnell Engineering Co., Kansas City, Missouri (W912DW-25-D-1018); HDR Engineering, Omaha, Nebraska (W912DW-25-D-1019); Jacobs Government Services Co., Arlington, Virginia (W91D2W25D1020); WSP USA Solutions, Washington, DC (W912DW-25-D-1021); Innova Architects, Tacoma, Washington (W912DW-25-D-1022); Raymond Pond Federal Solutions JV, Conyers, Georgia (W912DW-25-D-1023); WJA P.L.L.C., doing business as WJA Design Collaborative, Seattle, Washington (W912DW-25-D-1024); and Yaeger Architecture, Lenexa, Kansas (W912DW-25-D-1025), will compete for each order of the $249,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineering services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 17 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 8, 2032. US Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle, Washington, is the contracting activity.
Phillips Corp., Hanover, Maryland, was awarded a $34,210,249 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of Computer Numeric Control (CNC) Mill Assemblies and CNC Lathe Assemblies. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 8, 2030. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W519TC-25-D-2015).
Northrup Grumman Systems Corp., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $46,673,199 modification (P00108) to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N0001918C1037). This modification adds scope to provide production attrition capability integration support to implement, analyze and evaluate the life cycle software and hardware updates encompassing a broad spectrum of software and/or hardware engineering, design, programming, integration, manufacturing and quality, and test activities with varying levels and periods of intensity for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for the Navy. Work will be performed in Liverpool, New York (37.2%); El Segundo, California (18.2%); Melbourne, California (13%); Greenlawn, New York (10.8%); Largo, Florida (4.4%); Falls Church, Virginia (2.4%); Rockford, Illinois (1.6%); Torrance, California (1.4%); Windsor lock, Connecticut (1.3%); Woodland Hills, California (1.1%); Burbank, California (1%); and various location within the continental US (7.6%) and is expected to be completed May 2029. Fiscal 2024 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,000,000; and fiscal 2023 (Navy) funds in the amount of $36,673,199, will be obligated at the time of award, $36,673,199 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
Echo Five Group LLC, Arlington, Virginia, is being awarded a $32,547,606 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (N00189-25-D-Z019) to provide the Navy with administrative, analytical and technical support services in support of the Office of Civilian Human Resources mission. The contract will include a five-year ordering period with an additional six-month option period pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.217-8, which if exercised will bring the total estimated value of the contract to $35,939,234. Work will be completed by July 11, 2030; if the option is exercised, work will be completed by Jan. 12, 2031. Services under the contract will be performed in Washington, DC (100%). Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance funds (Navy) in the contract’s minimum amount of $10,000 will be obligated at time of award and funds will expire at the end of fiscal year 2025. Subsequent task orders under the resultant contract will be funded with appropriate fiscal year operation and maintenance funds (Navy). This contract was competitively procured through the System for Award Management website (Sam.gov) with the solicitation posted as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside pursuant to FAR Part 15 (Contracting by Negotiation) with 22 offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-25-D-Z019).
CACI Inc. Federal, Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded a $9,842,956 modification (P00031) to a previously awarded contract (FA8821-24-F-B001) for procuring two additional 7.3-meter antennas for the Satellite Control Network. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $375,638,804. Work will be performed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2027. Fiscal 2025 missile procurement funds in the amount of $9,842,956 are being obligated at the time of award. The Space Systems Command, Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.
Ahtna USA-CDM JV, West Sacramento, California (FA8903-25-D-0059); Aloha ‘Aina LLC, San Antonio, Texas (FA8903-25-D-0072); Barlovento LLC, Dothan, Alabama (FA8903-25-D-0058); Bering-Weston JV LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (FA8903-25-D-0056); CCI Group LLC, Anchorage, Alaska (FA8903-25-D-0057); GMH-C JV II LLC, Jacksonville, Florida (FA8903-25-D-0068); Jack Wayte CMS JV, Alamogordo, New Mexico (FA8903-25-D-0063); Jade Creek Construction LLC, Herndon, Virginia (FA8903-25-D-0060); MH JV (FA8903-25-D-0066); North Wind General Contractors LLC, Idaho Falls, Idaho (FA8903-25-D-0064); and Reliance Construction Management Co., Cary, North Carolina (FA8903-25-D-0067), were awarded a ceiling $15,000,000,000 firm-fixed-price, multiple award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity contract for Air Force Civil Engineering Center construction services. This contract provides for design-build and design-bid-build construction services including the following work classifications: sustainment maintenance, sustainment repair, restoration, modernization, minor construction, military construction, other procurement construction, and demolition located at various locations worldwide. Work will be performed globally and, if all options are exercised, is expected to be completed July 6, 2035. These contracts were competitive acquisitions with 33 offers received. Fiscal 2025 operation and maintenance appropriations funds in the amount of $33,000 ($3000 per awardee) are being obligated at the time of award. The 772nd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, Joint Base Lackland-San Antonio, Texas, is the contracting activity.
Schuyler Line Navigation Co. LLC, Annapolis, Maryland (HTC71124DW026), is awarded a contract modification (P00005) with a face value of $15,522,568. The modification provides continued ocean liner service between Jacksonville, and Blount Island, Florida; and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The modification of this firm-fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract brings the cumulative face value to $31,055,909. The option period of performance is from Aug. 1, 2025, to July 31, 2026. Fiscal 2025 defense working capital funds will be obligated. The US Transportation Command, Directorate of Acquisition, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity.
