Airmen of the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 104th Fighter Wing at Barnes Field and the local populace will get to see a presentation in mid-August on the plans to switch the wing from the A-10 to the F-15, reports The Republican. BRAC 2005 spared the ANG unit’s flying mission but opted to switch it from close air support to air defense—a not insignificant change. Last year’s BRAC actions stripped F-15s from the ANG unit at Otis ANG, Mass.—the 102nd FW—which has just learned that it will take up intelligence gathering instead of flying.
The U.S. and Sweden signed a bilateral Defense Cooperation Agreement on Dec. 5 that will strengthen military ties between them and likely lead to U.S. troops and prepositioned gear on Swedish soil. Swedish Defense minister Pal Jonson said the war in Ukraine prompted Sweden's joining NATO and he laid out…