They have been in the Southwest Asia theater only since January, but the first two production Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles already have flown 50 missions totaling more than 1,000 combat hours, Northrop Grumman said June 5. The two UAVs feature improved sensor capabilities over development versions, which amassed more than 5,000 combat hours over Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Pentagon’s new counter-drone task force will play a direct role in arming Airmen with new weapons to defend Air Force agile combat employment, or ACE, air bases in austere locations against enemy drone attacks, the director of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said Oct. 14.
