Connecticut pursued a lawsuit to stop the BRAC 2005-mandated removal of the A-10s from the Air National Guard’s 103rd Fighter Wing at Bradley Field, Conn., until Wednesday when Gov. Jodi Rell announced that the state has secured a flying mission for Bradley. At a news conference, Rell said the 103rd FW’s Warthogs would go, but eight C-21 cargo aircraft would replace them, beginning as early as September. The announcement caps an earlier decision by the Air Force and the National Guard Bureau to station new Joint Cargo Aircraft at the Connecticut facility.
The Air Force plans to add external weapons pylons on the B-1B bomber, both to increase the number of aircraft that can test hypersonic missiles and expand the Lancer’s loadout as USAF transitions to the B-21 bomber.