Officials at Beale AFB, Calif., say the base has flown its first operational Air Combat Command flight with one of the two RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle’s now assigned to the California base. It was “the first of many training missions designed to prepare our crews for missions over Iraq and Afghanistan and worldwide in the global war on terror,” said Brig. Gen. H.D. Polumbo Jr., commander of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale. The base received its first operational RQ-4 in 2004 and the second earlier this month.
The Air Force and Northrop Grumman have struck a $4.5 billion deal to increase production on the B-21 Raider bomber by 25 percent. Secretary of the Air Force Troy E. Meink announced the completed deal during his Feb. 23 keynote address to open AFA’s Warfare Symposium.
