Gov. Edward Rendell gathered senior members of his staff to meet with some Pennsylvanians who Rendell believes “misunderstood our plans” to save NAS JRB Willow Grove. Folks in Horsham Township had expressed displeasure after Rendell rolled out his plan last month. Rendell made it clear at this meeting that he and his staff “are not supporting a civilian or commercial airport,” instead the airfield would serve agencies pursuing the homeland security and emergency response missions. Pennsylvania got the Air Force to buy off on the plan, which would have USAF take over the facility from the Navy, and then turn it over to the state. Besides the home-front resistance, the Navy initially quashed the plan, declaring that there was no provision for such a move in BRAC legislation. Rendell’s office says that lawmakers “are considering legislation to direct this military transfer.”
This year’s Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting buzzed with talk of countering the rapidly evolving drone threat facing the entire U.S. military, including the Air Force. Leaders and defense industry officials discussed the need for new approaches to procurement and employment of a new class of these…
