Bruce Lemkin, point man for international affairs in the Air Force Secretariat since 2003 is retiring, according to USAF officials. No date was given for when Lemkin will leave. And there has been no announcement yet on his successor. Among his contributions, Lemkin played a key role in establishing the 12-nation Strategic Airlift Capability consortium that now operates a heavy airlift wing with three C-17 transports at Papa AB, Hungary. He was also instrumental in formulating the Air Force’s current global partnership strategy that stresses building partner capacity. Lemkin graduated from Annapolis in 1971 and spent time as a nuclear submarine commander.
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.