The last of the KC-135s of the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Air Refueling Wing has taken flight from the unit’s home at March ARB, Calif., reports the Riverside Press-Enterprise. The Air Guardsmen are now embracing their new mission—operating Predator unmanned aerial vehicles. The unit will have a name change and switches operational control from Air Mobility Command to Air Combat Command with its new mission. The 163rd airmen are working at Nellis AFB, Nev., with the UAVs, until construction upgrades at March are complete later this year.
The Pentagon has concluded a new agreement to buy laser-guidance kits that turn rockets into drone-killing weapons. BAE Systems and the Defense Department announced a framework deal of up to seven years for 25,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System guidance kits annually for the U.S. military.