MQ-9 Reapers, the workhorse drone of America’s two-decade counterterrorism fight in the Middle East and Africa, want to show they’re getting a second wind. The MQ-9 schoolhouse at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., recently rewrote its syllabus to prepare Reaper pilots and sensor operators for ...
Air Force researchers in October will test whether a software version of the service’s developmental weapons swarm can make its way through a combat mission and reroute itself as conditions change. The demonstration is part of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Golden Horde initiative, a ...
An MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 49th Wing at Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., was damaged when it skidded off the runway on Sept. 2, the base announced. The incident remains under investigation.
Pentagon researchers this week will pit man against machine in an aerial dogfighting tournament to see if artificial intelligence algorithms can outsmart each other and a human F-16 pilot in combat. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s AlphaDogfight Trials will host eight teams that have ...
F-16s and KC-135s deployed to two bases in Poland for an aviation rotation, shortly after the U.S. and Poland agreed to increase the amount of forces in the country. F-16s from the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, deployed to Łask Air Base ...
The U.S. and Polish militaries have agreed on a long-negotiated plan to increase the American presence in Poland, including adding a cargo hub and drones flown by the U.S. Air Force. The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which the parties have not yet signed, follows last ...
U.S. Air Force jets and Navy ships on Aug. 2 held a joint training exercise in the Black Sea near Russia’s borders together for the second time in two weeks, aiming to fine-tune their collaboration in a potential conflict. Four F-16s from the 31st Fighter ...
A leak in a cracked oil line caused an RQ-4’s engine to fail during a ferry flight to the Middle East in June 2018, and because the operations aircrews did not properly plan divert airfields en route, the Global Hawk crashed into the sea near ...
The Air Force wants its follow-on to the venerable MQ-9 Reaper to move beyond the surveillance and strike roles, and be able to conduct air-to-air and base defense missions with increased autonomy to lessen the number of people in the loop, the service’s top acquisition ...
Air Force command and control aircraft now have a combat evaluation program, with the kickoff of the first-ever Combat Sentry on July 13 at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla. Combat Sentry, similar to the live-fire Combat Hammer and Combat Archer evaluations, puts two E-3 Sentry ...
U.S. Air Forces in Europe moved its contingent of MQ-9 Reapers northeast to Estonia, where they can keep a closer eye on neighboring Russia. The contractor-owned, contractor-operated MQ-9s, related personnel, and support equipment moved to Amari Air Base in Estonia from their regular home of ...
U.S. forces in the Middle East are not prepared enough to defend against swarms of small drones, and the Pentagon needs to work harder to get ahead of the enduring threat, the head of U.S. Central Command warned. Small unmanned aerial systems, which can be ...