Adm. James Stavridis, US European Command boss and NATO’s supreme allied commander in Europe, told defense writers Monday in Washington, D.C., that NATO’s efforts to define a new strategic concept this year is “a big deal” since the alliance’s last roadmap dates back to 1999. He said the expectation is that the 28 member nations will agree to the new concept by November’s NATO summit in Lisbon. On Monday, NATO leaders took delivery of the analysis and recommendations for the new concept that were formulated by the 12-member group of experts led by former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Stavridis said, among the key points, the group wants NATO to pay more attention to cyber issues and leverage international, interagency, and private-public partnerships to address security problems. Also, NATO and the European Union need to achieve a level of complementary activity, not competition, he said. (NATO release)
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.