The Air Force will reduce its total end strength by about 9,900 personnel over the next five fiscal years, including 3,900 active duty members, 5,100 Air National Guardsmen, and 900 Air Force Reservists, said Secretary Michael Donley. Speaking at an Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force breakfast series event in Arlington, Va., Thursday, Donley said leaders strived to “carefully balance” the force to ensure it would be able to meet future requirements while sustaining its operational tempo. “This is an important issue for us as we assess the balance of the Total Force,” said Donley. He added, “While we’ll be smaller together, the active and reserve components will be even more closely integrated going forward.” The Air Force has proposed boosting the number of associations between the active and reserve components from about 100 to at least 115, said Donley. However, he said, “we think there may be more [associations] in the future.”
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.