Pentagon officials continue to push for the integration of remotely piloted aircraft into the national airspace as operations in Afghanistan wind down. The Air Force anticipates a shift in the strategic footprint of its RPA forces over the next three to four years, said Steven Pennington, the head of the Defense Policy Board on Federal Aviation and USAF’s director of bases, ranges, and airspace issues on the Air Staff. A great deal of the MQ-1s, MQ-9s, and RQ-4s currently operating in Southwest Asia will come back to their home stations, and active duty, Guard, and Reserve stations around the country will see an increased need for operating space. “When you bring them home you’ve got to be able to operate and train with them here,” Pennington said. That will be an acute challenge by 2015, he added.
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.