An Air Force crew from Dyess AFB, Tex., last week dropped some 80,000 leaflets over Afghanistan, targeting known Taliban-inhabited areas. The last such drop—30,000 leaflets—was part of Operation Achilles in March. The Dyess C-130 aircrew made the drop at the request of the Army. The leaflet has two messages, one on each side: one tells the reader that Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces are targeting the Helmand region to rid it of foreign Taliban; and the other explains that “the Taliban are commanded by foreigners who seek to destroy Afghanistan.”
General Atomics, the maker of one of the Air Force’s first Collaborative Combat Aircraft, has ambitious plans for its family of semi-autonomous drones beyond the FQ-42, including a flying-wing aircraft capable of carrying out both reconnaissance and strike missions. Meanwhile, the Air Force Research Laboratory announced a new program to…