More than 50 aircraft from six installations are being hosted at Tyndall AFB, Fla., for concurrent large-scale Total Force air integration exercises Checkered Flag and Combat Archer. Air Combat Command is organizing the live-fire training, which runs Dec. 5-16 and includes F-35A strike fighters, F-22 Raptors, F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, HH-60G Pave Hawks, and E-3 Sentries, according to a press release. In addition to Tyndall, assets and personnel have traveled from as far as Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and Tinker AFB, Okla., to participate in the exercises, which are focused on “rapid global mobility, precision engagement, and air and space superiority.” ACC created the 325th Air Expeditionary Wing for the purposes of the exercise to organize three fighter wings and other participating units according to a realistic battlefield environment. Combat Archer, which is held as many as 14 times annually, evaluates weapons systems specifically in air-to-air exercises and regularly deploys more than 300 air-to-air missiles in evaluating over 200 fighter aircraft per year, according to the release.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.