Air Force 
Materiel Command leadership at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, last week activated a new unit called the Enterprise Sourcing Group to develop strategic contracts for goods and services for stateside Air Force bases. “We will be saving money and manpower by approaching installation contracting from a strategic perspective,” said Gen. Donald Hoffman, AFMC boss, who presided over the Oct. 28 activation ceremony. Within five years, after ramp up, AFMC officials anticipate that the group will manage contracts totaling approximately $5 billion annually. Their estimates show the unit will save up to 15 percent of what the Air Force currently spends on common goods and services by leveraging its purchasing power, standardizing requirements, and eliminating redundant contracting efforts. “Our mission will impact the entire Air Force,” said Col. Mario Troncoso, the group’s director. Improving tradecraft in services acquisition is one of the pillars of the Defense Department’s efficiency initiative. Pentagon acquisition executive Ash Carter has already praised the Air Force for how it oversees its goods and services contracts. (Wright-Patterson report by JoAnne Rumple)
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.