The Obama Administration issued a new Statement of Administration Policy Friday as the Senate continued deliberation on the 2010 defense spending bill, admonishing lawmakers to forgo appropriators attempt to continue production on the C-17 airlifter. Unlike with the F-22, the Administration has not said it would veto the bill if it contains funding for C-17s; instead, it repeated the “strongly objects” wording used in its July 28 SAP.
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.