KC-135R Stratotankers from the 434th Air Refueling Wing at Grissom ARB, Indiana, will temporarily relocate to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, later this month during a 45-day, $3.2 million renovation of Grissom’s runway. The wing also is expected to bring personnel to support its aviation training and alert mission, states a May 14 Wright-Patt release. The first tankers are slated to arrive on May 27 and Grissom’s runway will close June 1. “We are doing this to prevent buckling of the runway due to thermal expansion,” said John Robison, 434th Civil Engineer Squadron chief engineer, in a May 13 Grissom release. “The pavement heaves up during the summer time, so we are going to put in expansion joints in the pavement that allow it to move around and prevent an un-level pavement surface.”
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.