The Air Force has taken delivery of the first MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle—the bigger and more powerful brother to the MQ-1 Predator—at Creech AFB, Nev. the commander of the 42nd Attack Squadron, Lt. Col. Jon Greene, piloted the UAV from California where it had undergone initial testing. Assisting him was sensor operator SrA. Aaron Aguilar. Greene said his unit’s mission is to get the first MQ-9 crews trained and ready for combat by this summer.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
