F-15Cs of the 493rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron have begun NATO air sovereignty alerts over Iceland after deploying recently from RAF Lakenheath, Britain, to Keflavik International Airport. “In this NATO mission, we identify and escort unauthorized aircraft before they reach Iceland’s sovereign airspace,” said Lt. Col. Michael Casey, 493rd EFS commander, in a May 22 release. “We practice scramble launches and when we receive an alert, the F-15s can be in the air within 15 minutes,” he added. Air Force Eagles provided continuous quick-reaction alert under a bilateral agreement with Iceland until 2006. At the Icelandic government’s request, NATO fighters now intermittently rotate for several weeks at a time to defend Iceland’s skies. Along with the fighters, KC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, Britain, and C-130Js from Ramstein AB, Germany, deployed to provide aerial refueling and rescue support. German air force F-4s completed a stint last month. The 493rd EFS will depart Iceland on June 7, according to Lakenheath officials. (Keflavik report by 2nd Lt. Lyndsey Horn) (NATO release)
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…