Air Force Reserve Command has stood up the 414th Fighter Group at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., to work with the active duty 4th Fighter Wing in operating the wing’s F-15E fighters under USAF’s continuing Total Force Initiative. By September 2011, the group is expected to reach its full strength of about 340 personnel who, by then, will not only help to fly Seymour Johnson’s Strike Eagles, but also assist in their upkeep and in supporting the 4th FW in additional ways. “We currently have 21 people and are actively hiring aircrews, intelligence [personnel], and maintainers for our organization,” said Lt. Col. Kevin Fesler, deputy commander of the 4th Operations Group. The 414th FG will include the 307th Fighter Squadron and the 414th Maintenance Squadron. (Seymour Johnson report by TSgt. Tammie Moore)
The F-47 fighter will be run differently than previous fighter programs and share the same mission systems architecture as the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin told the Senate Armed Services Committee. That means advances in one will fuel advances in the other.