The Air Force on Jan. 1 renamed the 480th Intelligence Wing at Langley AFB, Va., and the 70th IW at Fort George G. Meade, Md., as the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Wing and 70th ISR Wing. Further, the intelligence groups under these wings are now designated as ISR groups, the service said in a release yesterday. These moves are part of the ongoing transformation of the service’s ISR organizations that began in June 2007. “Throughout the transformation process, we have broadened our scope beyond signals intelligence to include all elements of ISR,” Maj. Gen. Craig Koziol, Air Force ISR Agency commander. He continued, “The renaming of our units to ISR solidifies our dedication to delivering the best trained forces and most effective capabilities and conducting integrated ISR operations for ground, air, space, and cyberspace missions.” Under the ISR changes, the agency is now a field operating agency of the Deputy Chief of Staff for ISR (A2) on the Air Staff.
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.