Air Force Reserve Command activated the 429th Air Combat Training Squadron at Holloman AFB, N.M., as a new remotely piloted aircraft instructional unit late last month, base officials announced. The geographically detached Reserve unit now augments the Active Duty 926th Group at Nellis AFB, Nev., which supplies MQ-1 and MQ-9 flight and crew instructors, in addition to providing test and evaluation to Nellis’ Air Force Warfare Center, according to Holloman’s Dec. 6 release. “Gaining the 429th ACTS highlights the Reserve Command in the RPA enterprise, and our projected growth into a wing with a dedicated RPA operations group,” said 926th Group commander Col. John Breeden. “I’m humbled to lead such a talented group of airmen,” said 429th ACTS commander Lt. Col. Brian Moles. The unit first stood-up at Holloman as a detachment of the 301st Fighter Wing at JRB Forth Worth, Tex., in 2010, before it was redesignated as a squadron on Nov. 19.
The Senate Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces heard testimony from the Defense Department’s top missile defense leaders and demanded to know why the Missile Defense Agency's proposed $9.6 billion fiscal 2023 budget will not yield more reliable defense against hypersonic weapons already being fielded by adversaries, including Russia on…