The Air Force and Air Force Association presented the 2009 Gen. Thomas D. White Space Trophy to Maj. Gen. Stephen Sargeant, commander of the Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center at Kirtland AFB, N.M., for making the most outstanding contribution to the nation’s aerospace progress over the preceding year. Among his accomplishments, Sargeant created a new space OT&E model that provides decision-makers timely and accurate data on new space systems and has been included in the DOD instruction that covers operation of the defense acquisition system. The National Geographic Society established the award in 1961 and presented it through 1996, when sponsorship transferred to AFA’s Gen. B.A. Schriever-Los Angeles Chapter. (Kirtland 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.