Maj. Gen. Hank Morrow, 1st Air Force and Continental US NORAD Region commander, says he is glad to have some F-15s available once again to protect the skies over US cities as part of Operation Noble Eagle. “I look forward to having the tremendous capabilities of the F-15 as part of my arsenal once again,” he adds. “Defending the nation remains the highest operational priority.” Morrow says resumption of the F-15s flying air sovereignty alert missions will be accomplished as soon as possible. Upon their return, one of the first tasks will be to relieve the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command fighter units that bore an additional alert burden during the F-15 standdown. “I’m very proud of our F-16 units, pilots, maintainers, and supporters that shouldered the additional burden over the past two months; they have my personal admiration,” Morrow says.
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.