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 confirmed new leaders of U.S. forces in Europe and the Middle East over the weekend. Lawmakers on June 29 also approved a reshuffling of Air Force officials that will put new faces in the service’s Pentagon headquarters as well as at its largest command.