An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed Aug. 1 at about 10:45 a.m. (local time) just north of Joint Base Balad in Iraq, according to an Aug. 1 release. There was no indication as to what caused the accident, but the service said a board would investigate. Another Predator crashed on June 2 in Iraq; word on the cause of that crash is still pending.
The Pentagon is significantly bolstering airpower near Venezuela, dispatching the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to Latin America, it said in an Oct. 24 statement. The announcement came just hours after U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers and other U.S. assets flew near the Venezuelan coast on Oct. 23.

