It's the most competitive round of on-time promotions to lieutenant colonel since the Air Force overhauled its selection process in 2020. The 18th Airborne Command and Control Squadron at Robins AFB will serve as the stateside home for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node fleet. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. CQ Brown Jr. noted the upcoming trip at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday. This was the first Minuteman III test conducted from an airborne control center on a Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft since August. The unfunded priorities list also requests money to buy 12 conformal fuel tanks for F-15EX fighters to extend their range and let it carry more weapons. With the aging E-3 AWACS becoming increasingly out of date and hard to maintain, top Air Force leaders say they want the new E-7 as soon as possible. One in 10 who sought promotion — from a pool of around 16,000 eligible master sergeants — will continue up the ladder. E-3 Sentry aerial target tracking planes are the latest to undergo inspection for subpar tail pins. Boeing's contract will be worth up to $1.2 billion, as the service begins work on a fleet to replace the iconic E-3 Sentry. “They spent years trying to develop a simulator to test [the F-35], and they still can’t deliver that," POGO's Dan Grazier said. Load More