Vandenberg Hall, one of two historic dormitories on the Air Force Academy campus in Colorado Springs, Colo., is getting a facelift. The $227 million renovation of the 950,000-square-foot facility is slated for completion in the third quarter of 2012, a spokesman for Denver-based Lantz-Boggio Architects told the Daily Report. The building houses 2,640 cadets. Construction activities in the six-level building will progress in phases so cadets living there will face minimal disruption. Once complete, the cadet rooms will feature a new “blast-resistant aluminum curtain” and tinted sliding glass windows made of recycled material, according to the spokesman. The rooftop will get photovoltaic panels for collecting the sun’s energy, consistent with the Air Force’s overall goal of utilizing renewable sources of energy and gaining more energy independence.
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.