USAF’s Andersen AFB, Guam, will generate 80 aircraft, including B-2 and B-52 bombers; F-15C, F-15E, and F-16CJ fighters; E-3 AWACS command and control aircraft; and KC-10 and KC-135 tankers, to conduct sorties for a variety of simulated events as part of Valiant Shield 2006. Another nearly 200 will fly off the USS Kitty Hawk, USS Ronald Reagan, and USS Abraham Lincoln. USAF Lt. Col. Colin Wright says his 90th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron will lead the F-15 force as they perform maritime interdiction, which he calls “an emerging skill set for F-15Es.”
The Air Force ramped up operations and maintenance spending to keep its F-35A fighters flying over the past six years, but readiness continues to lag behind goals, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.