US News & World Report has named the US Air Force Academy the best baccalaureate college in the western region of the US for the third year in a row in its “America’s Best Colleges” 2010 rankings. The academy also tied for having the sixth best undergraduate engineering program overall in the country, including placing second in aeronautical and astronautical engineering; second in electrical, electronic, and communications engineering; and second in mechanical engineering. “We are very proud of the rankings that we have received. These national public rankings are indeed a source of pride,” said Brig. Gen. Dana Born, USAFA’s dean of faculty, in a release Aug. 20. USN&WR evaluated universities that offer only undergraduate degrees and based its criteria on factors such as student-faculty ratio, percentage of full-time faculty, acceptance rate, class size, and freshman retention rates. (USN&WR rankings)
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.