A team of Air Force Research Lab-led engineers at Kirtland AFB, N.M., continues to prepare for the anticipated October launch of the Tactical Satelite-3. The on-orbit experiment will host the advance responsive tactically effective military imaging spectrometer, or ARTEMIS, a hyperspectral imager capable of identifying camouflaged or concealed objects otherwise difficult to discern with traditional cameras. TacSat-3 will also demonstrate technology to provide these images to troops on the ground within a matter of minutes instead of hours. (Includes Kirtland report by SSgt. Jeremy Larlee)
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.