Factory acceptance testing of the Air Force’s Distributed Common Ground System version 10.2 has been completed, clearing the way for installation of the hardware and software at Beale AFB, Calif., the first planned site, lead contractor Raytheon announced May 23. The test’s successful completion brings the Air Force’s DCGS sites “closer to a network-centric reality, where each site is able to share intelligence information in near real-time,” said Anthony DiFurio, director of multi-intelligence systems for Raytheon’s intelligence and information Systems. DCGS is a worldwide distributed architecture that enables collaborative intelligence operations and production of intelligence products.
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.