According to Air Combat Command, the 27th Fighter Squadron, which has been absent from the Air and Space Expeditionary Force rotation as it transitioned to the F-22, will be able to re-join the AEF queue in January 2007. ACC head Gen. Ronald Keys says it wouldn’t surprise him if the unit did deploy to combat duty in Iraq or Afghanistan—if the US is still engaged in those areas. The F-22 and its operators and maintainers, says Keys, are ready to deploy and fight anywhere—as of today.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
