The 524th Fighter Squadron recently became the second F-16 unit to cease operations at Cannon AFB, N.M., where the 27th Fighter Wing is transforming from a Viper wing into a special operations wing next month. The 27th FW inactivated the 523rd FS in May. The wing’s third operations unit, the 522nd FS, will be last to shut down; it took one more Air Expeditionary Force rotation, deploying to Andersen AFB, Guam, in late May for four months.
The Air Force is planning to spend $2.19 billion over the next five years to acquire new C-37 jets for transporting military and civilian leaders. That’s on top of another $1.17 billion in projected funding for the VC-25B “Air Force One” replacement.