Air Force Reserve Command activated the 960th Cyber Operations Group at JBSA-Lackland, Tex., the Air Force’s first such group, announced AFRC officials. The group stood up on March 1, states the command’s March 2 release. “The 960th is the one belly button for cyber in AFRC,” said Col. Lloyd Terry, the group’s commander. “Just like the 310th Space Wing is the one-stop shop for all things space in AFRC, we are the one-stop shop for cyber,” he added. The 960th CYOG will provide airmen with specialized expertise in operating and defending US military networks. The group has administrative control over 10 Reserve cyber units throughout the country, including four combat communications squadrons, two classic associate network operations squadrons, two classic associate network warfare flights, and two classic associate detachments set to become squadrons later this year, according to the release. AFRC currently has about 800 personnel working in cyber and is expanding in this area. The command is hiring both traditional Reservists and air reserve technicians for cyber, said Terry. “That’s one of our primary challenges right now—to fill all of the openings we have,” he said. (Lackland report by Bo Joyner)
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.