Four KC-135s and airmen from the Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing on May 31 returned from a deployment to Andersen AFB, Guam. The unit, based at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, spent three weeks supporting Pacific operations, refueling aircraft stationed and deployed to the area, according to a 161st ARW release. “We were supporting bomber aircraft in the region, which in turn support strategic deterrence,” 197th Air Refueling Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Dean Owen said in the release.
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…