Air Force Reserve Command plans to bring more F-16 pilots to Shaw AFB, S.C., in Fiscal 2008 to boost its Reserve Associate program with Shaw’s 20th Fighter Wing. An AFRC news release mentions that Shaw is to be home to the new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, so establishing an even stronger Reserve presence could be a build up for that new system. The release said only that the move was part of USAF’s Total Force Integration. AFRC commander, Lt. Gen. John A. Bradley, said, “Associate units make good business sense because they capitalize on the experience and skills of Reservists, many of whom were on active duty before joining the Air Force Reserve.”
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.