According to an April 2 Air Force Reserve Command release, AFRC expects to stand up its new classic associate squadron at Altus AFB, Okla., in 2010. Air Force and Oklahoma lawmakers announced creation of the unit April 2 (See above). Lt. Gen. Charles Stenner Jr., AFRC commander, said that the Reserve’s “exceptionally experienced” instructor aircrews would bring continuity to the formal training unit (FTU) at Altus. He noted, too, that with Reservists comprising “nearly 40 percent of the training load at Altus,” the standup of this Reserve squadron “is the first step in proportionality in the distribution of training placed on Regular Air Force crews.” According to the release, the new Reserve unit will not deploy, rather they would mobilize in-place, if needed, to keep the C-17 and KC-135 training pipelines open when active duty instructors must deploy.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…