Security Forces airmen deployed to Southwest Asia are finding an invaluable force protection asset in the form of the diminutive Desert Hawk, a small unmanned aerial vehicle that two people launch via a bungee cord and “fly” with a laptop, reports Air Force journalist MSgt. Jason Tudor. Known formally as the Force Protection Airborne Security System, the seven-pound UAV, made of foam plastic, performs day and night local reconnaissance and surveillance missions. Each FPASS comprises six aircraft (five are backups), a ground control station, and an antenna.
Members of the Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing helped save 11 airplane crash survivors off the coast of Florida on May 12. The Reserve Airmen were flying an HC-130J Combat King II and an HH-60W Jolly Green II on a routine training flight when a Coast Guard call diverted…