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.
Air Force depots are not typically meant for quick repair jobs, but during Operation Epic Fury, the service moved some of its stateside heavy maintenance capability forward to fix battle-damaged aircraft closer to the fight.
