The 80th Fighter Squadron at Kunsan AB, South Korea, recently lent a helping hand to some fellow aviators, sending 10 pilots and F-16s to fly counterair for the Marine Corps F/A-18s at Iwakuni, Japan. The Kunsan airmen actually were returning the favor, since the marines supplied Red air for the Kunsan operational readiness inspection, reports MSgt. Sean Houlihan.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.