Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz and his Navy counterpart Adm. Gary Roughhead were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding Thursday outlining the two service’s cooperation on their respective RQ-4 Global Hawk and Broad Area Maritime Surveillance remotely piloted aircraft, according to Lt. Gen. David Deptula, USAF’s top general for ISR issues. Deptula said he and Vice Adm. David Dorsett, the sea service’s information dominance czar, “have met many, many times” to define the areas of partnership for Global Hawk and BAMS in terms of training, basing, and operations. The two chiefs were studying the proposed MOU Wednesday and were expected to seal the deal at Air Force-Navy warfighter talks on Thursday, said Deptula. The aircraft will be jointly supported from continental US locations, Andersen AFB, Guam, and NAS Sigonella, Sicily. The services are also studying a joint training syllabus, pilot exchanges, maintenance, and contractor support.
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.