The Montana Air National Guard and the state’s Congressional delegation and local officials are working together to try to get the Air Force to create an associate unit between the ANG’s 120th Fighter Wing at Great Falls and an active duty force at Malmstrom Air Force Base, reports KRTV in Great Falls. In 2006, a Montana group urged the Air Force to consider reopening the Malmstrom airfield and moving the 120th FW there as part of its BRAC-induced switch from F-16 to F-15 fighters. The latest proposal would have the Air Guardsmen train an active associate unit of F-15 maintainers. The Montana group also would like to increase the 120th FW’s aircraft inventory from 15 to 24.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design the Air Force said.