Administrative control of the 576th Flight Test Squadron will be handed over from Air Force Global Strike Command Directorate of Operations to the 20th Air Force Oct. 1. Oversight and management of the ICBM testing process will remain under AFGSC control, while the administrative change clarifies the chain of command for the 576th FLTS, according to an AFGSC release. The 576th FLTS is the only unit with a mission focused on testing the nation’s fleet of Minuteman III missiles, and the squadron has been testing ICBMs since 1959.? “Administratively and functionally, this aligns the squadron with the professionals within the ICBM Numbered Air Force,” Maj. Gen. Anthony Cotton, 20th Air Force Commander, said, according to the release. “While the operational-level mission of the squadron differs from the other 20AF units … the tactical-level actions and problem sets of the 576th parallel those of sister units.”
B-21 Raider First Flight Now Postponed to 2023
May 20, 2022
The Air Force says the B-21 Raider won't make its first flight until 2023; about a six-month delay from the last official estimates. No reason was given for the delay. While other programs have recently chalked up schedule slips to supply chain and labor shortages, the Air Force has said…