The Air Force’s Fiscal 2014 budget request for military construction includes $265 million toward the beddown of the KC-46A tanker at three initial sites, Kathleen Ferguson, the service’s acting assistant secretary for installations, environment, and logistics, told lawmakers last week. The total includes $193 million for the first Active Duty KC-46 main operating base (MOB 1), $63 million for the formal training unit, and $9 million for land acquisition at Tinker AFB, Okla., for the KC-46 depot, according to Ferguson, who testified on April 12 before the House Appropriations Committee’s military construction, veterans’ affairs, and related agencies panel. The Air Force in January announced the candidate locations for the initial KC-46A beddown. Service officials expect to announce the preferred locations in May, she said. At that point, the Air Force will submit more detailed MILCON documents to lawmakers, she said. Overall, the Air Force is requesting $1.3 billion for MILCON in Fiscal 2014 (up some $900 million from the Fiscal 2013 request), along with $2.2 billion for facility sustainment, $813 million for restoration and modernization, and $465 million for military family housing, said Ferguson. (Ferguson’s prepared statement)
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.