A bipartisan group of six Senators on March 26 sent a letter to President Obama urging him to preserve the next generation bomber (NGB) in the Fiscal 2010 defense budget. Despite protests to the contrary, there is strong sentiment that the NGB is on the Administration hit list among weapons cuts sure to come in the new budget. The Senators write that terminating the NGB “would do tremendous damage to our nation’s future ability to project power abroad.” They reminded the President that senior Administration officials have agreed the new bomber is “absolutely critical.” The Senators are: John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and David Vitter (R-La.)
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.