The Air Force is considering personnel shifts within Europe to support the fledgling US Africa Command. Potential moves include rerouting AFRICOM air traffic out of its current hub at Ramstein AB, Germany, through Naval Station Rota and Morón AB, Spain, NAS Sigonella in Sicily, and Lajes Field in the Portuguese Azores, Stars and Stripes reported March 25. “We can’t fit everything into Ramstein, so we have to look at other places,” Col. Keith Keck, chief of Air Mobility Command’s strategic planning division, told the newspaper. Another change on the horizon is the reactivation of 17th Air Force, the air component of AFRICOM, in September, just before the command reaches full operational capability in October.
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.