Buried within the 2007 defense spending bill is a notation that prohibits the Air Force from using any 2007 funds to transfer “any test and evaluation facility or test and evaluation activity” from Eglin AFB, Fla., currently located or conducted at Eglin. The Air Force this summer began drafting a plan to move some Eglin test assets to Edwards AFB, Calif., in what they say would consolidate like activities and save almost half a billion dollars. Despite assurances that Eglin actually is expected to grow in numbers of personnel, civilian employees complained to Florida lawmakers as rumors circulated.
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.