Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz believes the service has to keep the U-2 Dragon Lady viable through the transition to the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle because “what the U-2 does is irreplaceable.” He made that comment Aug. 21 at an Airmen’s Call on his first visit to Beale AFB, Calif., home to both the U-2 and RQ-4. Schwartz acknowledged that incorporating the U-2’s “range of sensor capabilities” on the RQ-4 “is taking longer than we’d like.” He vowed, “I will pay attention to the transition, and we will sustain the U-2 until we have a solid transition.” Schwartz noted that intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance work is “vital to today’s fight,” and, since the U-2 is part of that vital ISR capability, he said, “we’ve got to rock and roll all the way to the finish line.” (Beale report by SSgt. Sarah Brown)
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.