T
he Air Force’s much-touted expansion of its basic military training is on track to commence in October, with construction of the necessary new facilities nearly complete at Lackland AFB, Tex., Gen. William Looney, head of Air Education and Training Command, said Friday. Speaking before a crowd at AFA’s Air Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Looney said the new BMT course, which will run 8.5 weeks as opposed to the current 6.5 weeks, will emphasize more combat and expeditionary skills. He also said the service will announce “in the next few months” the location of its Common Battlefield Airman Training center. (Last fall, Looney had anticipated the announcement might come as early as last month.) Sites under consideration for this schoolhouse include Arnold AFB, Tenn., Barksdale AFB, La., and Moody AFB, Ga.
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.