The Air Force and its reserve components met or exceeded their recruiting goals for Fiscal 2013, according to the Defense Department’s recruiting statistics for the complete fiscal year. This continues the service’s streak of matching or surpassing its numerical accessions targets that stretches back to Fiscal 2008. In Fiscal 2013, which ended on Sept. 30, the Air Force’s Active Duty component met its recruiting goal by attracting 26,275 accessions, show the Pentagon’s data, issued on Nov. 19. The Air National Guard brought in 10,737 accessions, 102 percent of its fiscal year target of 10,500. The Air Force Reserve, meanwhile, accepted 7,846 accessions in the fiscal year, 135 percent of its goal of 5,817, according to the data. Across DOD, the Army’s, Marine Corps’, and Navy’s Active Duty components met or slightly exceeded their Fiscal 2013 recruiting targets. Among the other services’ reserve components, only the Army National Guard and Army Reserve fell short of their recruiting goals. (See also the Air Force’s Fiscal 2012 recruiting numbers, along with our coverage of the Fiscal 2013 data through August.)
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.