Wright Patt Fighters and Bombers program will get new commander

A senior leader at a nuclear weapons center center will lead the Wright-Patterson office that oversees development of the Air Force’s fighters and bombers.

Col. Heath A. Collins will be promoted to the rank of brigadier general as commander of the Fighters and Bombers Directorate at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson.

RELATED: Furloughed Wright Patt workers will be paid Collins is the senior material leader and system program manager to develop next generation nuclear ballistic missiles at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center's Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Systems Program Office at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, the service branch said.

At Wright-Patterson, Collins will oversee the development and modernization, among other responsibilities, of the Air Force’s fleet of fighters and bombers, such as the F-22 Raptor and the B-1B Lancer, the Air Force said.

RELATED: Wright Patt centrifuge operations delayed, base says He replaces Brig. Gen. Michael Schmidt, who has been selected for the program executive officer post at the Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks Directorate at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

A leadership transition date has not yet been released.

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