The Air Force has just identified the Air National Guard’s 163rd Air Refueling Wing at March ARB, Calif., as the recipient-to-be of a new MQ-1 Predator UAV unit. The 2005 BRAC sliced off the 163rd’s KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft, so the wing, like others caught in the BRAC-fall, has been in a new mission hunt. Officials say the unit designation will change to the 163rd Wing.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.