Last fall Air Combat Command provisionally stood up the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron at Nellis AFB, Nev., and has now officially reactivated the former Wild Weasel unit. Its task is to compile and disseminate new tactics, techniques, and procedures. From the time its members began work last October to the unit’s formal stand up, Maj. Gen. Mike Worden, commander of the Air Force Warfare Center, says it has performed an “amazing list of accomplishments,” including developing a training process that ensure units deploy ready to operate rather than taking two-weeks to spin up as in the past. Worden believes the 561st “could well become the most famous squadron in the Combat Air Forces.”
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.