An RQ-4 is set to land at Robins AFB, Ga., this week, marking the first time a remotely piloted aircraft has flown to an Air Force maintenance depot. The Global Hawk is headed south for a paint job, “to prevent corrosion and deterioration of the aircraft,” according to a Robins press release. The visit will also serve as a trial run for the possibility of establishing a more permanent RQ-4 depot operation at Robins, Brig. Gen. John Kubinec, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, told the Macon Telegraph in January. The RPA is scheduled to land at Robins May 10.
The U.S. military is carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions along the southern border and off the coast of Mexico using U.S. Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint and U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft as part of the Pentagon’s effort to secure the southern border at the direction of President…