According to Florida news reports, Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) was successful in adding a provision to the 2010 defense spending bill that just passed the House that would delay the start of F-15 removal from Tyndall Air Force Base until April 1. The Air Force had wanted to start the process on Jan. 1. Boyd and members of the Bay Defense Alliance met with service leaders last month to discuss the base’s shift from F-15 training to F-22 training—and, in the process, loss of one squadron. Many lawmakers in both houses of Congress have chided the Air Force over its planned early retirement of some 250 legacy fighters and want a detailed report on how it intends to cover, in particular, the air sovereignty alert mission. (Also read News Herald report; TV 7 report)
The Air Force is upgrading some 70 MQ-9 Reapers to a new configuration that will keep the type capable and relevant to the near-peer fight for another 15 years. It awarded General Atomics a $272.3 million contract to enhance the Reaper's weapons, electric power, connectivity, and resistance to jamming, among…