Sixty members of the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Fighter Wing are working with their active duty counterparts in the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, Va., to learn how to operate and maintain the new F-22A fighters. The Air Force is integrating the 192nd with the 1st in all but administrative control. The goal is to share the aircraft and equipment, working together. According to the Guardsmen, it is the first time they’ve been in on the ground floor with a new system. Officials expect to complete full integration of the 192nd at Langley by September 2009.
Lockheed Martin plans to enter the Advanced Tactical Trainer fray to supply the Air Force with a new jet to bridge undergraduate flight instruction and fighter training units, but the company declined to say whether it will offer a T-50A derivative, a different non-developmental airplane, or a clean-sheet design. Its…