The Air Force last week completed flight tests on the latest version of the Global Hawk UAV. Test personnel at Edwards AFB, Calif., put the Block 10 production UAV through a battery of exercises, covering flying operations and electro-optical, infrared, and synthetic radar sensor function and sensor image quality. Currently, the Global Hawks that have been providing ISR imagery over Iraq and Afghanistan are one-of-a-kind technology demonstrators. Once Air Combat Command gives the OK on the production version, blue-suit maintainers will take over from civilian contractors.
The crash of a T-38 trainer jet this May—which caused a weekslong pause in flights across the fleet—was caused by an improperly installed pin for one of the jet’s horizontal stabilizers, according to a new accident report released Oct. 30. When the pin disengaged midflight, it created the slightest amount…