Colorado Springs, Colo.—The Air Force’s light attack aircraft experiment scheduled for this summer at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, will be about clarifying capabilities, not selecting sources, Air Force Materiel Command boss Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski said at a press briefing at the 33rd Space Symposium here Thursday. “It’s not specific, it’s not a down select, it’s not a lead into a program of record. It’s purely to collect the right data to help us make that decision,” she said. The Air Force is particularly interested in how a light attack aircraft can interact with the fifth-generation capabilities of the F-22 and F-35. The experiment is aimed at helping the Air Force understand the “feasibility” of “a high/low mix, you know, of a combination of aircraft,” Pawlikowski said. “We’re trying to get good data to make sure we understand what a light attack type of capability will provide to our abilities in air superiority and supporting ground operations.”
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.