Otis to Get Intel Mission: The Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 102nd Fighter Wing will trade in its F-15s for a new intelligence-gathering mission, slated to begin late next year, according to several news reports. It appears that the head of the Mass ANG, Brig. Gen. Michael Akey had it right when he said last fall that intel headed the list of possible missions, once the BRAC-cut Fighters leave the base. However, according to the Cape Cod Times, there is a bad news side to this story: The new mission only requires some 200 airmen—less than half the Air Guardsmen currently attached to the wing.
The Air Force is in talks with Boeing to modify requirements for its new VC-25B presidential aircraft, in a push to get them into service by 2027. Boeing has given the Air Force a revised timeline that could bring the VC-25B aircraft earlier “if adjustments are made to requirements,” a…