Sheppard AFB, Tex., will host a noncommissioned officer academy that is expected to open its doors to technical sergeants in early 2011 and initially graduate about 1,300 airmen annually, Air Force officials announced May 7. The new academy will train active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve airmen. It will give the Air Force a total of 11 NCO academies—including one each in Alaska, Hawaii, Germany, and Japan—that will graduate a combined estimated 11,800 students each year. The Sheppard academy will be housed in a facility on the base grounds previously used for enlisted medical training. That training mission is moving to Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, courtesy of BRAC 2005. (Randolph report)
As with previous stealth aircraft unveilings, the Air Force’s imagery of the F-47 Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter has been doctored to keep adversaries guessing about its true shaping and design philosophy.