The Air Force plan to create a composite Predator unmanned aerial vehicle force comprising active, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command airmen is well on its way. One of the first initiatives was to put AFRC Lt. Col. John Breedan in command of one of the service’s three active duty Predator units, the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, Nev. The mission of the 11th is to train Predator aircrews, and, over the past three years, under Breedan’s command, it has produced 45 per year. Breedan told the Nellis Bullseye that the unit should graduate 105 aircrews in Fiscal 2006 and 120 in 2007.
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.