US Joint Forces Command plans to use unmanned aerial vehicles as an element of Noble Resolve, its “experimentation campaign” to find ways to improve homeland defense and military support to civil authorities, according to Air Force Gen Lance Smith. The JFCOM boss also told Washington-based defense reporters Wednesday that putting UAVs with the Air National Guard is a “done deal,” but he added, “It may be moving slower than anticipated.”
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.