The 
Air Force informed Congress this week that it has increased the planned lifecycle flying hours for its future fleet of 179 KC-46A tankers, and added some 60 additional aircrews that it will assign to these airplanes, in order to utilize them more closely to their full potential, according to a service release. As a result of the projected increased usage of the new tankers over their 40-year lifetime, the service has revised up its estimate of the money needed to operate and support these jets, now predicting $103 billion in total costs, an increase of 11.2 percent, states the Feb. 5 release. The original estimate was $92.7 billion, reported Reuters (via the Chicago Tribune), also on Feb. 5. The projected cost increase is because the Air Force will use the KC-46 “more often and more effectively” than today’s KC-135, and does not reflect increased costs to operate the KC-46, stressed service officials. “We’re just flying it more,” said Maj. Gen. John Thompson, the Air Force’s tanker program executive officer and KC-46 program director. (Washington, D.C., report by MSgt. Jess D. Harvey)
The Space Force relies entirely on data—but it lacks the systems and tools to analyze and share that data properly even within the service, let alone with international partners, officials said May 1.