Air Force Reserve Command’s 44th Fighter Group was activated April 9 during a ceremony at Holloman AFB, N.M. The group, which includes the 301st Fighter Squadron and the 44th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, is Holloman’s first Reserve unit and AFRC’s second sharing in the operations of the F-22 fighter. (AFRC activated the 477th Fighter Group at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, in October 2007 to jointly operate and maintain F-22s with the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf.) The 44th FG will work with Holloman’s active duty 49th Fighter Wing. Holloman is in the midst of standing up two F-22 active duty squadrons. However, the ultimate number of F-22s that call the desert base home will be influenced by USAF’s beddown decisions on the F-35 strike fighter. The 44th FG traces its lineage to the 44th Bombardment Group (Heavy) that flew B-17s during World War II. The 301st FS formerly operated F-16s at Luke AFB, Ariz. (Holloman photo caption by SSgt. Joe Laws) (For more, see the Alamogordo Daily News report.)
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.