The NextGen project, aimed at modernizing airspace infrastructure, is on track for initial operational capability, said Edward Bolton, the assistant administrator for NextGen at the Federal Aviation Administration, at ASC15. The fear, however, is that because the behemoth project is a series of programs, and issues such as sequester and the FAA’s reauthorization affecting it, it will not stay on track for long, said Paul Rinaldi, president of National Air Traffic Controllers Association. Bolton added that the “biggest challenge for NextGen is a stable funding system and a new structure.” The FAA is now in the second segment of its NextGen project, having just completed the first segment last year, said Bolton.
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.