It’s not been determined when the Air Force will pursue a replacement for the HH-60 Combat Search and Rescue aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz told reporters Tuesday. “We prefer not to SLEP [perform a Service Life Extension Program on] the HH-60,” he said, but he couldn’t promise the new airplane will be in the budget soon. “We are committed to [recapitalizing] these machines and we’ll do that as rapidly as our topline … will allow.” He said the mission is one all the services count on the Air Force to perform, and it will be supported. USAF wants an “off the shelf” platform as the next CSAR aircraft, fitted with the specialized gear necessary for it to “go downtown,” Schwartz said.
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.