Air Force Secretary Michael Donley, Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz, Pentagon acquisition executive Ash Carter, and KC-46A Program Executive Officer Brig. Gen. Christopher Bogdan gathered Monday in Dayton, Ohio, to personally thank the team of more than 230 airmen and Air Force civilians at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who oversaw the KC-X tanker source selection. “I thank you for renewing the reputation of defense acquisition,” said Schwartz during the appreciation event held at the National Museum of the US Air Force. Donley said: “We clearly had the right people working [this competition].” Carter emphasized the significance of running a successful competition in securing “big savings” for the taxpayer. Bogdan said he “couldn’t be any prouder” of the source-selection team. The Air Force on Feb. 24 chose Boeing’s KC-46A tanker over EADS North America’s KC-45. EADS did not protest the decision. (Wright-Patterson report by Daryl Mayer)
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…