The Air Force plan to create a composite Predator unmanned aerial vehicle force comprising active, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve Command airmen is well on its way. One of the first initiatives was to put AFRC Lt. Col. John Breedan in command of one of the service’s three active duty Predator units, the 11th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, Nev. The mission of the 11th is to train Predator aircrews, and, over the past three years, under Breedan’s command, it has produced 45 per year. Breedan told the Nellis Bullseye that the unit should graduate 105 aircrews in Fiscal 2006 and 120 in 2007.
Anduril and General Atomics will develop their Collaborative Combat Aircraft for the Air Force, beating out Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman, the service announced on April 24. But any of the non-selected companies can compete to actually manufacture the eventual design, the Air Force said.