Air Force Reserve Command officials on Jan. 7 formally reactivated the 45th Fighter Squadron, an A-10 training unit, at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz. The unit last flew A-10s before its deactivation in 1994. The reanimated squadron, which falls administratively under the 917th Wing at Barksdale AFB, La., will support A-10 initial qualification training as well as transition and instructor pilot upgrade training together with the wing’s 47th FS at Barksdale. (Barksdale photo caption by Amn. Jerilyn Quintanilla)
Even with a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in the defense budget, losing a conflict with China still becomes a “distinct possibility" without both aircraft cuts and a fundamental change in how the Air Force structures itself for war, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. warned lawmakers…