Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday began a 10-day trip to Hawaii, Singapore, Vietnam, and India—his second to the Asia-Pacific region since April. While in Hawaii, Carter will attend change-of-command ceremonies for US Pacific Command and US Pacific Fleet, said Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren in a May 27 DOD release. He will then travel to Asia “where he will emphasize a regional approach to maritime security, build relationships with key partners, and seek out new areas of defense cooperation, all as part of the ‘next phase of the rebalance,’” states the report. Carter will visit “critical security areas” and partner militaries before meeting with government officials “to advance bilateral relationships,” states the report.
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.