Members of the 16th Space Control Squadron and Air Force Reserve Command’s 380th SPCS from Peterson AFB, Colo., recently broke ground on a Rapid Attack, Identification, Detection, and Reporting System site in Hawaii. The two units cooperate under a reserve association. About one year from now, they will begin protecting US military satellite communication links from a central location at Peterson by detecting, characterizing, and locating sources of electromagnetic interference, such as Satcom jammers, via several RAIDRS remote monitoring sites that the Air Force is establishing worldwide. “In the case of something hostile, we can provide decision makers with information as to where the hostile action is coming from,” said Lt. Col. Roger Sherman, 16th SPCS commander. Groundbreaking for a RAIDRS site in Florida is slated for September. The Hawaii groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 28. (Peterson report by Lea Johnson)
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.