The number of airstrikes being carried out by Predator MQ-1 unmanned aerial vehicles against insurgents in Iraq is growing. USA Today reported April 29 that the Air Force has set a new high mark in April with 11 Predator attacks. This is nearly double the previous high of six during a one-month period set both in November 2006 and July 2007, the newspaper said. The increase coincides with a spike in fighting in Sadr City, a portion of Baghdad, and in Basra in the southern part of the country. The Predator carries two Hellfire ground-attack missiles. Key Predator targets are insurgents firing rockets and mortars into Baghdad’s Green Zone or at other coalition targets. Since July 2007, Predator missions have more than doubled in Iraq, Air Force Lt. Col. Scott Murray, head of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance division at the combined air and space operations center in Southwest Asia, told the newspaper. The Air Force can currently provide commanders in the Middle East/Near East theater of operations with 23 simultaneous Predator combat air patrols.
How Miss America 2024 Took the Air Force Somewhere New
Dec. 20, 2024
When 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh became the first ever active service member crowned Miss America on Jan. 14, top Air Force officials recognized a rare opportunity to reach women and girls who otherwise might not consider military service as an option.