Just as they did in Fiscal 2010, the Air Force active duty force met is Fiscal 2011 recruiting goals, while USAF’s two reserve components exceeded theirs, according to the Defense Department’s year-end statistics. The active duty component brought in 28,518 accessions in Fiscal 2011, three more than its goal of 28,515 (but still considered 100 percent). The Air National Guard accepted 7,182 new recruits, 550 more than its target. And, the Air Force Reserve surpassed its objective by 238 accessions, attracting 9,069 recruits. Compared to the Fiscal 2010 totals, both the active duty and Air Guard numbers were slightly up, while the Reserve number was down. Across the Defense Department, only the Army National Guard did not meet or exceed its recruiting objective in Fiscal 2011, according to DOD. But that was intentional in order to stay within its authorized end strength. (See also our previous recruiting entry.)
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.