Currently, USAF has some 200 ROVER units in the US Central Command area of operations—and demand for the technology continues to grow. However, since the technology utilizes UHF frequencies, bandwidth management has become an issue just as it was with radios, says Harbin. “There comes a point where everyone can’t be on the same frequency,” he explained. The way to “manage it,” he added, is to assign “a unit a frequency.”
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…