Eighth Air Force officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in late March to mark the temporary relocation of their headquarters from Barksdale AFB, La., to the Cyber Innovation Center in nearby Bossier City. The center will serve as home for about 250 8th Air Force staff members for the next 18 months to 24 months while their permanent HQ at Barksdale is being renovated and efforts are underway at the base to beddown Air Force Global Strike Command headquarters staff. Maj. Gen. Floyd Carpenter, 8th AF boss, said at the March 29 event that the CIC is “a good fit” and “will make a great temporary home.” “We are fortunate to have such a world-class facility nearby that could accommodate our specialized communication and security needs,” he said, The Air Force is the first tenant in the newly constructed center. (Bossier City report by Maj. Richard Komurek)
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.