Viper Pods Paying Off: 
Air National Guard F-16s equipped with Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System targeting pods have added a new dimension for ground forces in Southwest Asia, providing high-quality still imagery of tactical objectives. F-16 Vipers from the 332nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, at Balad AB, Iraq, recently provided TARS imagery to aid coalition mission planning for a raid on a house that turned up insurgents and a weapons cache, according to New Jersey ANG Lt. Col. Kerry Gentry, the 332nd commander. TARS-equipped F-16s also provide battle damage assessment of air strike targets, since the pods can take pictures of a site before a GPS munition impact and then perform a post-drop analysis. (Other USAF assets also are providing this non-traditional type intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capability.)
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
