Officials at Little Rock AFB, Ark., say that training of C-130 aircrews is falling behind because too many older C-130 Hercules are grounded or restricted for wing-box fractures. The base has 33 of the 82 C-130s currently grounded by Air Mobility Command, reports the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The Air Education and Training Command base also supplies C-130s to support operations in Southwest Asia. To keep up with its commitments, Little Rock has borrowed C-130s from Air National Guard units in North Carolina and Wyoming. The prognosis for relief—all the unit’s C-130s repaired with new wing boxes—is 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.