Late Thursday afternoon, the full Senate approved the conference report for the Fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill by a vote of 68 to 29, sending President Obama a measure that still includes the alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The question is: Will the President sign the policy bill as is—with the provision to continue the General Electric-Rolls Royce F136 as an alternate to the Pratt & Whitney F135 that currently powers the F-35—and reserve a veto for the spending bill (see above). Stay tuned for more coverage of policy bill provisions.
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.