An Air Force MQ-1B Predator unmanned aerial vehicle fired one of its Hellfire missiles, killing three insurgents in the act of planting an improvised explosive devise near Balad AB, Iraq. US Central Command Air Forces officials say the Predator monitored the insurgents for 30 minutes, relaying images of the trio as they dug a hole in a road, set an explosive, and strung wire from the hole to a ditch beside the road. Brig. Gen. Frank Gorenc , the commander of the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad, said that information led CENTAF officials to assign the Predator to monitor the area.
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.