Development Nears Malmstrom: Concerned citizens in the area around Malmstrom AFB, Mont., are worried that new retail proposals may jeopardize any chance the base would have to sustain a flying operation, reports the Great Falls Tribune. Malmstrom lost its KC-135 tanker mission in 1996 (a victim of BRAC 1995). Now, its sole primary mission is ICBMs, but some want to ensure the door is left open to resume flying operations. After all, the Minuteman III ICBM mission may well be history by 2020.
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.