: Air Force officials broke ground July 1 at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, on a new $36 million project to expand the facilities of the Air Force Research Lab’s sensors directorate. The Dayton Daily News reported July 1 that the project, which is due for completion in April 2011, will add offices, labs, and a testing range to the existing sensors directorate building. It is part of the effort to consolidate sensors directorate work at Wright-Patterson by moving about 100 research positions to the Ohio base from Rome, N.Y., and Hanscom AFB, Mass. Butt Construction is the lead contractor. Overall, Wright-Patterson is undergoing about $332 million in construction projects as about 1,200 research positions transfer to the base per BRAC 2005, according to the newspaper. For example, the Air Force is constructing a 680,000 square-foot complex at the base to house it human effectiveness research under one roof.
Fixing the Air Force’s chronic combat pilot shortage will require more aircraft in the fleet, more flying hours to squadron operations, and retaining more pilots within Reserve components, according to a new paper from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.