Installation began in July 2004 for a new antenna for the Air Force Satellite Control Network operation at New Boston AFS, N.H., and operational testing began on Dec. 14. It took more than one year to complete the radome housing the antenna, reports Maj. Dean Bellamy of the 23rd Space Operations Squadron at New Boston. The unit must complete four phases of testing before putting the system online. By the way, the last antenna lasted some 44 years.
The 301st Fighter Wing in Fort Worth, Texas, became the first standalone Reserve unit in the Air Force to get its own F-35s, welcoming the first fighter Nov. 5.