Air Forces Central reports that an MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle had crashed in eastern Afghanistan on May 14. The brief statement said, “The crash was not due to hostile fire.” This is at least the third Predator crash in Afghanistan so far this year. There was one in February and one earlier this month.
The U.S. continued to move a significant amount of airpower toward the Middle East in recent days as talks to forge a nuclear deal with Iran hung in the balance. Flight tracking data indicate there was unusually heavy movement of dozens of fighter jets and other assets that might be…



