BRAC commissioner Samuel Skinner told a Michigan television station that Gov. Jennifer Granholm has the authority to move the 24 A-10 Warthogs destined for Selfridge Air National Guard Base under commission recommendations. She can, if she wants, leave them at their present home with the ANG unit at Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek. Skinner apparently was the one who ensured that Kellogg would not be closed outright to give Granholm the option of placement. Ultimately, the A-10s were meant to replace the Selfridge’s F-16s, which are slated to be retired. Confusion reigns.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.