The third and final Air Force Week of 2009 starts Saturday in Sacramento, Calif., and runs through Sept. 13 and nearby locations including Travis Air Force Base. The festivities kick off Sept. 5 with a five-mile run and the first of several performances by the Air Force’s Tops in Blue entertainers. There will also be a country music concert and Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Gen. Arthur Lichte, Air Mobility Command boss, will speak during the course of the week. The celebrations will culminate with the California Capital Air Show on Sept. 12-13 and performance by the Air Force’s Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team on both days. Hampton Roads, Va., hosted the first Air Force Week of 2009 back in April; Salt Lake City followed in June. (For more, see the Air Force Week Sacramento Web site and this Travis commentary by Col. John Lipinski.)
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.