In case anyone had doubts, Air Force rescue crews are fully engaged in operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. To ensure the word gets out, the US Central Command Air Forces has begun listing, in its summaries of airpower activities, the number of helicopter rescue missions flown. In the first two such reports, CENTAF says that USAF HH-60 Pave Hawks flew five rescues on May 25 and two on May 24. The releases also noted, “Three patients with life-threatening injuries were saved as a result of these missions.”
A new Air Force organization is searching for counter-drone firms to participate in a dozen or more exercises to help create operating plans by the end of this year for defending the service’s U.S.-based installations from drone attacks.