Gen. James Cartwright, JCS vice chairman, speaking at the Space and Missile Conference (see above), said it’s time to abandon the 50-year-old premise that “one-size-fits-all” in our approach to nuclear deterrence, leading the Pentagon to search for “synergies” between the Ballistic Missile Defense Review and the Nuclear Posture Review. In his remarks at the event, Army Lt. Gen. Patrick O’Reilly, director of the Missile Defense Agency, assured attendees that the Pentagon is “not enhancing our regional missile defense at the expense of our strategic defense,” reports The Huntsville Times. However, the newspaper also noted that Rep. Parker Griffith (D-Ala.) questioned whether the budget had driven recent policy decisions and whether five years from now we would regret not developing certain weapons technology in favor of bailing out the auto industry. He said, “The defense of the United States is going to be expensive.” (Includes AFPS 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.