With the clock ticking on retiring the Air Force's aging E-3 Sentry fleet, every second counts on building the E-7s that will replace them. Plummeting NCO promotion rates are a ripple effect of the Air Force’s effort to grow its early career enlisted workforce. Its flight marks the beginning of the T-7′s final development phase before Boeing starts producing military-ready jets. 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 talks will pave the way for action by G-7 leaders when they meet next month in Hiroshima. 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 With the aging E-3 AWACS becoming increasingly out of date and hard to maintain, top Air Force leaders say they want the new E-7 as soon as possible. Load More