The Air Force has taken delivery of the first MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle—the bigger and more powerful brother to the MQ-1 Predator—at Creech AFB, Nev. the commander of the 42nd Attack Squadron, Lt. Col. Jon Greene, piloted the UAV from California where it had undergone initial testing. Assisting him was sensor operator SrA. Aaron Aguilar. Greene said his unit’s mission is to get the first MQ-9 crews trained and ready for combat by this summer.
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.