Officials at Cannon AFB, N.M., officially activated the 43rd Intelligence Squadron during a ceremony last week. The squadron, which is taking the place of Det. 1, 25th IS, which was inactivated, will train and employ direct support operators specializing in threat warning and situational awareness while flying aboard Air Force Special Operations Command aircraft. “As a detachment, we’ve been here since the 27th Special Operations Wing first stood up,” said 1st Lt. Paul Caruso, 43rd IS chief of current operations. “As a squadron, we’ll be here for as long as there are flying squadrons who need the intelligence we provide.” Maj. William J. Howery, the former Det. 1 commander, relinquished command to Lt. Col. Frederick Humphrey, the new squadron commander, during a ceremony at Cannon, Nov. 1. The transition from a detachment to a squadron was necessary to accommodate an increase in flying squadrons and aircraft located at Cannon, according to the release.
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.