Air Force Space Command announced that it will inactivate the 3rd Combat Communications Group at Tinker AFB, Okla., as part of the Air Force’s overall force structure changes to meet the Obama Administration’s new strategic guidance. “The inactivation of the 3rd CCG is part of a larger Air Force effort to shape the force,” said Col Joseph Scherrer, commander of the 689th Combat Communications Wing at Robins AFB, Ga., the group’s parent organization. As part of the new strategy, “the Air Force is reducing deployable communications capabilities to match the reduction in combat air forces, added Scherrer. The group’s inactivation will affect 600 military billets at Tinker. Airmen from the group will transition to other units, said Scherrer. With the inactivation of the 3rd CCG, the 689th CCW will be left with one group: the 5th CCG at Robins. (See also the Air Force’s presentation slides with state-by-state breakdown of force structure changes.)
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.