An Air Force task force charged with advancing new technologies is considering fielding one-way attack drones in the Middle East, the top USAF commander for the region told reporters Oct. 4. Task Force 99, a small detachment in Air Forces Central (AFCENT), is exploring kinetic ...
Under Col. Robert Smoker, Task Force 99’s new commander, the unit will continue to try to cut through red tape and field new systems quickly. “We're weird,“ he said. “Everybody has their job to do and they do it.”
The Air Force's Task Force 99, a showcase CENTCOM unit devoted to innovation, conducted a successful operational test of small drones that could be used for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
Air Force Chief of Staff Charles Q. Brown Jr. took a tour of the Middle East in early January, engaging with U.S. allies and visiting service members in the region, the Air Force announced. Brown and Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force JoAnne S. ...
U.S. Central Command is making progress tying together air, missile, and drone defenses—but there’s still more to be done to achieve “single-pane-of-glass” integration, officials say. Fully integrating sensors and defenses will demand further innovations, both in integrating new technologies and repurposing existing ones, said CENTCOM Deputy ...
A small Air Force team at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar is working on solutions to mitigate one of U.S. Central Command’s primary issues: doing more with less. As part of a broader push in CENTCOM towards what leaders call “a culture of innovation,” ...
U.S. military leaders have been clear; They want to field new technologies faster and adapt available commercial technology to better equip the future force. Now, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) is set to play a key role in that effort as part of a top-down push ...
The Department of Defense's senior policy official laid out the Biden administration’s security strategy for the Middle East. In a speech in Bahrain, Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said the U.S. is still committed to the region despite a shift in its security focus ...
U.S. Central Command is standing up task forces in hopes of harnessing new technology in innovative ways. The the command wants to augment its modest military footprint in the region and to counter potential adversaries. In mid-October, the Air Force's component, Task Force 99, came ...