2024 USAF & USSF Almanac: Installations

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.

Airmen at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. are working on a device that will start up the KC-46 refueling tanker faster, which would cut down the time it takes for crews to take off and gas up aircraft in need.

For the Space Force and the U.S. writ large, the mission of position, navigation, and timing has become synonymous with three letters: GPS. That is likely to change in the coming years, as service officials described plans this week for a whole host of alternative systems, or alt-PNT.

The Space Force is finalizing its first contracts for the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve and plans to award them early in 2025—giving the service access to commercial satellites and other space systems in times of conflict or crisis—officials said Nov. 21. 

The Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin have struck a “handshake deal” on prices for Lots 18 and 19 of the F-35 fighter, but have not yet revealed them. The agreement is about a year overdue, and comes after a period where the company was laying out its on money…

Air & Space Forces Magazine got an inside look at how the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing flew a high-risk mission to pick up a patient on a cargo ship 500 miles off the coast of San Francisco last month.

The first Stand-in Attack Weapon, expected to be used in large numbers to clear a path through enemy air defenses, has been delivered for initial Air Force testing, Northrop Grumman announced. The missile is expected to be operational in just two years.

Air & Space Forces Magazine got an inside look at how the California Air National Guard’s 129th Rescue Wing flew a high-risk mission to pick up a patient on a cargo ship 500 miles off the coast of San Francisco last month.

Scores of different HR systems, a new model for how to handle promotions, and protections against conflicts of interest are all challenges the Space Force will have to resolve as it tries to bring part-time Guardians into the fold instead of a traditional Reserve component.