The Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Maxwell AFB, Ala., has just graduated its largest class ever, according to CMSgt. Alex Perry, academy commandant. But the next class may be even larger, he said. There were 457 students who graduated from the six-week class that concluded July 21, said Perry. Normally the cap is 450 students divided into 30 flights. But the decision was made to accept the extra seven students and create an extra flight to accommodate them, he said. That expansion “worked out very well,” he noted. Perry said goal for the incoming August class is 32 flights serving 476 students. The academy aims to graduate 2,200 students annually, he said. (Maxwell report by Carl Bergquist)
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.