The Air Force’s three components continued to meet their respective recruiting goals through the end of April, according to the Defense Department’s newest recruiting statistics. The Air Force’s Active Duty component brought in 16,537 accessions through April, meeting 100 percent of its fiscal-year-to-date goal, states the release. Similarly, the Air National Guard accepted 5,842, reaching its target. The Air Force Reserve exceeded its goal by four percent, bringing in 4,251—182 accessions over its goal. Across DOD, only the Army Reserve continues to fall short, bringing in 15,734 accessions—just 91 percent of its goal. (See our coverage of March’s recruiting numbers)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…