Four F-15C Eagles from Barnes ANGB, Mass., have completed the Icelandic portion of the latest theater security package (TSP) sent to Europe. The aircraft, assigned to the Massachusetts Air National Guard’s 131st Fighter Squadron, departed Iceland on April 30 after supporting Icelandic Air Surveillance and Operation Atlantic Resolve, according to a May 2 release. Approximately 200 airmen from the Massachusetts ANG’s 104th Fighter Wing and California ANG’s 144th Fighter Wing took part in the mission that began April 3. Active Duty airmen helped with logistics and ground operations. A dozen F-15C Eagles from Barnes and Fresno ANGB, Calif., make up the latest TSP deployed to Europe to deter Russian aggression. During the remainder of the six-month TSP, the airmen will deploy to Bulgaria, Estonia, and Romania. (See also: Toward a Total Force from the March issue of Air Force Magazine.)
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…