The 309th Maintenance Group at Hill AFB, Utah, has begun a new task—depot maintenance for the F-22A Raptor. The first of up to 14 of the fighters scheduled for depot work landed at Hill recently to begin undergoing minor modifications. The Ogden Air Logistics Center has contracted to perform mods on 18 Raptors so far. Guy Phillips, the F-22 maintenance squadron director for the 309th says each fighter should spend 35 days at the base, as the ALC modifies the fighter to aid an aerial refueling boom operator’s ability to see the stealthy fighter’s fuel receptacle at night.
The Senate passed Republicans’ sweeping tax-and-spending package July 1 in a 51-50 vote, the culmination of a 27-hour marathon legislative session. The package—often called the reconciliation bill—includes a $150 billion package of defense funds that accounts for a significant portion of the money the Air Force and Space Force want…