Air Force Special Operations Command’s 16th Special Operations Squadron is celebrating 40 years of operations and working toward moving its whole shebang from Hurlburt Field, Fla., to AFSOC’s new western hub at Cannon AFB, N.M., home to the 27th Special Operations Wing. The 16th SOS and its gunships expect to call New Mexico home next year, with all aircraft, equipment, and personnelin place by fall. Lt. Col. Jason Miller, 16th SOS operations officer, said, “We look forward to training on the Melrose Range and to take advantage of the new targets the 27th Special Operations Wing has placed in the Spirit and Jockey impact areas. … We will accomplish this move to Cannon with the same intensity, dedication, and panache our previous Spectres accomplished their every endeavor.” (Hurlburt report by TSgt. Sheri Kangas)
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.