On Friday, the Air Force released a list of force structure changes for Fiscal 2010 that Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz said “reflects our best effort to meet the expanding Air Force mission areas and growing joint demands.” He added that the decisions required “some hard choices.” This list, the Air Force said, does not include several programmatic actions, including basing for the C-27J Joint Cargo Aircraft, which has concerned lawmakers with the Pentagon’s reduction of the program from 78 to 38 airframes, and follow-on missions for units affected by the service’s planned combat air force restructure—the early retirement of some 250 fighters. The narrative provided by USAF details the force structure changes by state for active and reserve components. (USAF release and accompanying narrative)
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.