The 386th Air Expeditionary Wing launched a new centralized repair facility in Southwest Asia for HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters. “Long term, this is going to be a huge gain for the Air Force,” said Maj. Michael Campos, 386th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron commander. “This small team is, at the end of the day, going to get the combat search and rescue assets in the [area of responsibility] back into the fight quicker.” Comprised of a total of four airmen—two maintainers and two supply personnel—the facility is collocated with an Army theater aviation support unit, allowing it to take advantage of the land service’s UH-60 Blackhawk supply chain in theater. Before the CRF, airmen had to return Pave Hawk engines and components to the United States for service. (386th AEW report by SSgt. Patrice Clarke)
The Air Force overall reduced its size by 120 aircraft in fiscal year 2021, but kept about the same number of fighter, bomber and attack aircraft, according to data supplied by the service. The F-35 fleet saw the biggest increase while the B-1B bomber fleet saw the largest decline.