President 
Obama has nominated Lt. Gen. Larry Spencer for a fourth star for his assignment as the next Air Force vice chief of staff, announced the Pentagon. Spencer has been the Joint Staff’s director of force structure since August 2010. He would replace Gen. Philip Breedlove, vice chief since January 2011, whom the Air Force has selected to command US Air Forces in Europe at Ramstein AB, Germany, according to the Defense Department’s May 11 release. Breedlove would take over for Gen. Mark Welsh, whom President Obama last week nominated to be the next Air Force Chief of Staff. Obama also tapped Maj. Gen. Noel Jones for promotion to the rank of lieutenant general for his assignment as USAFE’s vice commander. Jones is currently director of operational capability requirements on the Air Staff.
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.