A Reservist has qualified to fly the U-2 spy plane for the first time in Air Force history, using a fast-track program that opens up new manning options for the intelligence enterprise, the 9th Reconnaissance Wing said May 13. Maj. Jeffrey Anderson joined the highly ...
Multiple companies who faced off in the Air Force’s light attack experiment will again compete for a similar contract from U.S. Special Operations Command. Textron Aviation, Air Tractor, and Leidos are offering aircraft for a three-phase armed overwatch competition that ends with live-fly demonstrations in ...
For the first time since the early days of the war in Afghanistan, Air Forces Central Command is not providing a regular update on the number of airstrikes in that theater, or from ongoing operations in Iraq and Syria. AFCENT, in a statement, said it ...
The Air Force and U.S. Africa Command skirted Congressional oversight, didn’t adequately complete a site survey, and didn’t meet safety requirements in building a new operating base in Niger, leading to extended delays, cost overruns, and possibly unsafe conditions for personnel at Air Base 201, ...
The Air Force’s plan to cut MQ-9 Reaper production and some air patrols in the fiscal 2021 budget request would negatively impact the ability to conduct operations and provide enough over watch in hotspots in the Middle East and Africa, the top officials responsible for ...
The Air Force is using its first information warfare cell to support cyber operations, part of a new approach to digital, “gray zone” combat. The IW cell brings together experts in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; electronic warfare; cyber; information operations; and public affairs, according to ...
A General Atomics official said the company is surprised by the Air Force’s plan to stop buying new MQ-9 Reapers in fiscal 2020, after expecting to gradually wind down the production line. Chris Pehrson, General Atomics' vice president of strategic development, told Air Force Magazine ...
U.S. Special Operations Command’s armed overwatch planes eventually will replace the U-28 Draco, a small fleet of specialized and heavily used intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, Air Force Special Operations Command boss Lt. Gen. James Slife said Feb. 12. Under the armed overwatch program, SOCOM ...
Only one-fifth of US Southern Command's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance requirement is being met, and much of that doesn't even come from military hardware. SOUTHCOM boss Adm. Craig Faller told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Jan. 30 that of the roughly 20 percent of ...
US strike aircraft dropped more bombs in Afghanistan in 2019 than any other year since at least the surge in 2009. US aircraft flew 2,434 strike sorties, releasing 7,423 weapons, according to statistics released Jan. 27 by Air Forces Central Command. These totals are higher ...
The Air Force’s MQ-9 presence in Eastern Europe has moved south again, as the 52nd Expeditionary Operations Group Det. 2 begins flying in Romania this month. The MQ-9s are deployed to Miroslawiec AB, Poland, and this is the second time they have moved to the ...
NATO on Jan. 17 received the first two of five Air Ground Surveillance system drones at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The AGS system, a variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk already in use by multiple nations, will be used by NATO to watch over Europe, and ...