The past year definitely finished on a high note for the Illinois Air National Guard’s 182nd Air Mobility Wing. The BRAC commission overruled the Pentagon, stripping the 182nd at Greater Peoria Airport of four C-130s and eliminated a planned personnel increase. Yet, the Peoria unit, according to the Peoria Journal Star, is about to embark on a nearly $10 million construction project. It is just in the design phase, expected to be completed this spring, but the plan calls for a new 37,700 square foot squadron operations building.
One of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ prototype Collaborative Combat Aircraft drones crashed shortly after takeoff April 6, and the company has paused its test flights while it investigates the incident.