The Pentagon’s new “Better Buying Power” initiative offers some clues on how the Air Force will buy the Long Range Strike Bomber, according to retired Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford. Speaking at the long-range-strike panel at AFA’s 2013 Air and Space Conference, he said there would be incentives “tied to tangible performance;” not necessarily just passing a major milestone. The program executive will be directly answerable to the Pentagon’s acquisition executive, he said. “Should cost” will play a big role; “dollars released to program office” will not be along the lines of traditional progress payments, but only enough to track with performance, he said. The government will not simply choose “the most glittering proposal” it thinks it can afford, said Shackelford.
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.