Air Combat Command chief Gen. Ronald Keys says that new equipment can also create manpower savings. For example, each new F-22 Raptor the command receives probably will replace three F-15 Eagles, creating personnel savings. Further, Keys said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that the F-22 would be less maintenance intensive, even on a one-for-one basis. Similarly, he expects the new and unmanned MQ-4 Global Hawk to require fewer personnel to support and operate it than does the U-2 spyplane it eventually will replace. ACC needs these efficiencies. Keys noted that “I’m going to lose about 12,600 people,” in the command, “that’s a lot of people”—10 percent of the command.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.