The Air Force announced Jan. 2 that the airmen of the 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., who are known as the Lions, have won the 2008 International Test and Evaluation Association’s Special Achievement Award for extraordinary achievement in test and evaluation. “The Lions provided our combat air forces with the weapon systems they needed to find, fix, track, and destroy fleeting urban and fast moving targets,” said Lt. Col. Daniel Holmes, former commander of the unit. He continued, “Testing new aircraft, weapons and sensor upgrades is normally a three- to five-year process, but we tested and fielded several new systems in a matter of months.” The squadron conducts operational tests for new systems on A-10, F-15, F-16, and F-22 aircraft.
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.