Although the BRAC commission acquiesced to the Pentagon recommendation to strip the Pennsylvania Air National Guard’s 111th Fighter Wing at NAS Willow Grove of its A-10s, it included a caveat in its final report that the Pentagon should consider keeping some of the Warthogs at the facility. The commission does believe DOD should close the base, turning it over for civilian use, but it “encourages” the Pentagon “to consider identifying A-10 aircraft to form an A-10 wing or detachment … at Willow Grove, PA.”
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…