On a r
ecent trip to China, Gen. Paul Hester asked a large unit commander how China would integrate that nation’s anti-satellite capability into its war plans. The Chinese commander politely sidestepped the question, but admitted to Hester that he had only learned about the ASAT test from Western media. He also privately told Hester that China’s space and air assets are not integrated, and that he hoped China would pattern a new organization like Air Force Space Command to bring them together. It was “an enriching discussion,” Hester said during AFA’s Air & Space Conference in Washington.
Boeing received a $2.47 billion Air Force contract Nov. 25 for 15 more KC-46s, bringing to 183 the number of Pegasus tankers on contract to all customers, foreign and domestic. The new contract—for Lot 12 of the initially planned KC-46 buy—is to be completed by 2029.
