China’s Sense of Self and Place: The top goal of the Chinese national security leadership is to keep the national party in power, said Bernard Cole, international history professor at National Defense University. Speaking at AFA’s Air & Space Conference Sept. 16, Cole said that, secondly, they want to be an East Asian power, meaning that they don’t want anything to happen in Asia of which they would disapprove. And concerning issues affecting the world order, the Chinese want their voice to be heard.
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.