T
he Arizona Air National Guard formally activated its newest unit this week—the 214th Reconnaissance Group based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. It will be the latest guard unit to fly Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. Arizona Air Guardsmen have been flying aircraft over Iraq and Afghanistan since July, the Arizona Daily Star reports, but will eventually have dedicated aircraft based at nearby Ft. Huachuca and will grow from about 75 personnel to more than 120. Eventually, officials plan to bring about a dozen aircraft to Arizona, with pilots and support personnel split between D-M and Ft. Huachuca in Sierra Vista.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.