The Air Force will consolidate two air and space operation centers in the continental United States and two in Europe beginning as early as this year as part of its efficiency initiatives, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley said Wednesday during an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series talk in Arlington, Va. The 601st AOC at Tyndall AFB, Fla., that supports NORAD and US Northern Command and the 612th AOC at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., that supports US Southern Command will be combined into one, he said. The service will also merge the two AOCs at Ramstein AB, Germany, charged with supporting US European Command (603rd AOC) and US Africa Command (617th AOC) into one ops center, he said. The consolidations are expected to save the service about 550 manpower authorizations, said Donley. Of these centers, the 617th is the newest, having stood up in May 2009.
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.