Members of the 325th Fighter Wing at Tyndall AFB, Fla., are preparing to transition from Air Education and Training Command to Air Combat Command on Oct. 1 as part of the Air Force’s reorganization of its F-22 fleet. Tyndall, already home to F-22 training, will gain a combat-coded Raptor squadron from Holloman AFB, N.M., under the change, along with some 250 Air Force Reservists from Holloman’s 44th Fighter Group, states an Aug. 31 Tyndall release. The Reservists will help to operate and maintain Tyndall’s F-22s. “The 44th FG is coming in to support the operational F-22 combat-coded unit that will be standing up here next spring,” said Col. Scott Crogg, commander of the 44th FG, Det. 2 at Tyndall. He added, “We will absorb the existing flying training unit mission. . . . So, in the long run, we will support operations, flying training, and maintenance on the combat side.” The Reservists will also support the base’s T-38s, which play the role of adversary aircraft in F-22 training exercises. (Tyndall report by SSgt. Kirsten Wicker)
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.