Air Force Reserve chief Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner on Tuesday articulated his three priorities for the National Guard and Reserve Equipment Account, a fund set up by Congress to enhance the relevance of gear for the reserve components. They are: precision engagement gear, in the form of additional Litening targeting pods; defensive systems, such as LAIRCM, which protects cargo airplanes against missiles; and personal protection equipment, ranging from helmets and body armor to sidearms. “You need to have the same stuff” as the active duty component to be relevant, Stenner said during his Air Force Association-sponsored Air Force Breakfast Series presentation in Arlington, Va. He noted that targeting pods have already dealt the Air National Guard and AFR back into the game in that regard.
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.