Work toward d
evelopment of new technical inspection procedures for the Air Force’s fleet of F-15 A-D models under an extended grounding order became much easier when engineers and technicians at Warner Robins Air Logistics Center in Georgia put an F-15 under the saw. Technicians with the 653rd Combat Logistics Support Squadron cut the two upper longerons out of an F-15 used for ground combat training at Warrior Air Base, a remote area on Robins Air Force Base. That enabled the 830th Aircraft Sustainment Group to continue their efforts to produce a nondestructive inspection process that F-15 maintainers can use in the field to “detect any abnormalities that might be found in the longerons,” said John Richards, 830th ASG deputy director. (USAF report by Amanda Creel.)
Control of the skies in Operation Epic Fury is enabling the Pentagon to rely more on satellite- and laser-guided bombs, throttle back on expensive long-range standoff munitions, and move to a new phase of air war, defense officials said on March 4. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen.…