Air Force Reserve Command plans to establish a new associate unit at Beale AFB, Calif., working with Air Combat Command’s 548th Intelligence Group. The Reservists will operate under a “classic” associate arrangement, sharing the load in operating and maintaining active duty equipment. AFRC plans to shift authorizations from the 940th Air Refueling Wing at Beale, which loses its KC-135 tankers under BRAC 2005, to form the core of the new Beale unit by 2008.
Sikorsky is pitching a modified "U-Hawk" version of older UH-60 Black Hawk series helicopters as autonomous resupply aircraft with additional capabilities as missile or drone swarm launchers.
