The Air Force has pushed back the transfer of a squadron of combat-ready F-22s from Holloman AFB, N.M., to Tyndall AFB, Fla., to the spring of 2014, about a one-year delay. “The timing of the move allows the approved actions to be synchronized in a way that minimizes disruption to airmen and their families, while optimizing combat capabilities and continuity in training for the units affected by the decision,” states a Jan. 9 Tyndall release. The northwest Florida base is already home to the F-22 schoolhouse. Under the Air Force’s F-22 fleet consolidation plan announced in July 2010, it stands to gain 21 Raptors and some 620 Active Duty and 230 Air Force Reserve manpower authorizations. Seven T-38s that fly as mock adversary aircraft against F-22s in training will also shift from Holloman to Tyndall, according to the release. The News Herald of Panama City, Fla., reported on Jan. 9 that elements of the Holloman squadron were originally scheduled to start arriving at Tyndall sometime this month.
The Space Force should take bold, decisive steps—and soon—to develop the capabilities and architecture needed to support more flexible, dynamic operations in orbit and counter Chinese aggression and technological progress, according to a new report from AFA’s Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
