The Air Force Inspector General recently recognized the 21st Space Wing at Peterson AFB, Colo., as the first Active Duty or Reserve wing to fully implement the Air Force’s new inspection system, states an April 15 release. “We worked aggressively on the implementation of this new system within our wing,” said Col. John Shaw, 21st SW commander. Under the previous system, an external team inspected the unit. Now the unit commander regularly conducts inspections. “The frantic preparation” under the old system “was unsustainable,” said 21st Space Wing’s Inspector General L. J. Van Belkum. “You can’t maintain at that speed and expect to stay mission ready and focused. Everyone was exhausted by the end of our most recent consolidated unit inspection; the AFIS is designed to eliminate that,” he said. The wing has come up with a two-year strategic plan to aid the self-assessment. “While we know we don’t have this AFIS 100 percent right, we are on a good course to meet its intent of improving operations within the wing,” said Shaw.
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.