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 first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…