Tyndall AFB, Fla., is ramping up maintenance assets to receive additional F-22 Raptors that will transfer from Holloman AFB, N.M., over the next few months, base officials announced. More than $65 million in tools and F-22 support equipment is pouring into Tyndall, and the base’s 95th Aircraft Maintenance Unit is set to more than double by July, according to a Jan. 6 release. About 30 percent of the equipment and supplies are already in place, and the 95th AMU is set to grow from 99 Active Duty personnel to 192 Active and 30 full-time Air Force Reserve Command technicians, officials said. With the arrival of combat-coded F-22s, “Tyndall is no longer just a training base,” said 95th AMU boss Capt. Emily Harris. The 95th Fighter Squadron, which stood up at Tyndall in October, expects to receive the first of its 24 combat-tasked F-22s early this year.
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.