If Jumper is correct, then there are implications for USAF battlefield airmen, those specialized airmen who travel with the ground forces to coordinate the delivery of airpower. If US aircraft stay, they stay. An Air Force news release on Monday said USAF currently has some 250 tactical air control party airmen on the ground in Iraq.
This year’s Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting buzzed with talk of countering the rapidly evolving drone threat facing the entire U.S. military, including the Air Force. Leaders and defense industry officials discussed the need for new approaches to procurement and employment of a new class of these…