Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said Nov. 17 that the Fiscal 2010 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill included the $11 million for a new Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (SERE) complex at Fairchild AFB, Wash., that she included in the measure. She stated in a release that the funding not only would help instructors of the 336th Training Group which runs the USAF Survival School at Fairchild, but it would also “give a boost to Spokane’s local economy.” She added, “Our men and women in uniform deserve the best and most up-to-date training to protect themselves overseas.” According to the release, the current SERE facility is more than 50 years old and has become increasingly costly to maintain.
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.