The Pentagon’s acquisition community faces a 300 percent annual increase in the requests for overhead full-motion video to support ground operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, USA Today reported March 25. Currently the demand for FMV, which is provided by platforms including the Air Force’s MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, outpaces the supply by 4:1, the newspaper said, citing Office of the Secretary of Defense officials. Although OSD has increased the number of UAVs deployed to the combat theater in the past five years from 167 to 5,331, the supply remains inadequate, the newspaper said. As a result, anti-coalition insurgents continue to plant and detonate roadside bombs—still the biggest killer of US forces—with relative impunity, the newspaper said, citing military officials and documents. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has made getting as many Predators into combat as possible one of his top priorities.
Pentagon Releases Cost of Living, BAH Rates for 2026
Dec. 30, 2025
The Pentagon will pay cost of living allowances to 127,000 service members in the continental U.S. in 2026, an increase of 66,000 members in 2025. Airmen and Guardians across the U.S. will also receive an average increase of 4.2 percent for their Basic Housing Allowance, compared to the 5.4 percent…
