Although the Air Force has not made a decision yet whether to adopt the Heritage Coat, the airmen who sampled it during a wear test gave it high marks. According to feedback from some 350 male and female airmen who wore the coat on a trial basis at various bases and locations nationwide, 92 percent of the participants deemed the coat suitable as a military uniform, 72 percent preferred its overall design to the current service coat, and two-thirds thought the Air Force should adopt it. Three versions were tested: fabric belt and slide buckle, honor guard style belt and buckle, and four-button, no belt. The no-belt style was most popular with about 71 percent preferring it. (For more on the Heritage Coat and USAF uniform issues, read In Search of the Perfect Uniform from January’s issue of Air Force Magazine.) (Air Force report by TSgt. Amaani Lyle)
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.