With the New START treaty now under consideration of the US Congress, Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz said the Air Force Global Strike Command staff had submitted a detailed report—included with the Air Force portion of the Congressionally directed “1251 report”—to Pentagon leadership detailing what impact the treaty would have on the command’s ICBM and bomber force structure. If Congress approves the treaty, it would permit the US to maintain up to 60 nuclear bombers and up to 420 ICBMs, said Klotz. “I think … we can get to those numbers with little trouble,” he added.
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.