Prototype UAV Returns From War: Global Hawk UAV No. 3, a pre-production model, has returned to Edwards AFB, Calif., after spending three years overseas supporting the war on terror. It touched down at Edwards on Feb. 20 and was treated to a celebratory water hosing. Aeronautical Systems Command officials say the UAV logged more than 4,800 combat flight hours. The technology demonstrator, which flew 191 combat sorties out of a total of 249, has been replaced overseas by production Global Hawks.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…