The Arizona Air National Guard has activated the 214th Reconnaissance Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., culminating a two-year effort to incorporate the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle into Arizona ANG operations, reports Capt. Gabe Johnson. Airmen of the new unit actually began flying MQ-1 Predator in combat operations over Southwest Asia in July, operating the UAVs remotely from ground stations in Tucson. The group plans to complete construction of permanent ground control facility at Davis-Monthan in 2009 and hangar facilities at Ft. Huachuca in 2011. Arizona ANG commander, Maj. Gen. Michael Shira, calls the effort just the beginning. He said: “There are things we can do with this airplane that we haven’t even thought of yet. This is the future.”
The Air Force wants to pump more than $12 billion over the next five years into its new affordable long-range missiles program and recently asked industry to push the flights of some of those munitions beyond 1,200 miles.