Tomorrow, the first Air Force Week of 2009 kicks off in Hampton Roads, Va., near Langley Air Force Base. It runs through April 26th. Air Force Weeks began in 2006 to celebrate the service and its people, get the word out on the work of airmen and the tools they use, and connect more closely with local communities. The Hampton Road festivities include a four-day Air Force exposition, ceremonies honoring veterans and employer support of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve, a joint airpower demonstration with flyovers, a senior leadership discussion on the future of air, space and cyber power, and the two-day Airpower over Hampton Roads air show at Langley. (Full schedule) The second Air Force Week of 2009 will take place in Salt Lake City at the start of June, and this year’s third and final Air Force Week will be held in Sacramento, Calif., in early September.
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.