Deploy five of USAF’s metal technicians from various US home stations, arm them at Balad AB, Iraq with welding irons, drill presses and other tools, then, step back. Tapping a hefty dose of resourcefulness, the airmen of the 332nd Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron not only fix aircraft parts to keep F-16s flying, but also manufacture “must have” blast plating for bomb disposal technicians, and brackets for Army helicopter blades, reports the Red Tail Flyer. They can make workstations for radar approach and control, and fabricate parts needed for all USAF aircraft in the combat zone. “The different kinds of customers we have definitely keeps us busy,” said SrA. Daniel Lindsay, a South Dakota Air National Guardsman.
There is a new entrant in the highly competitive field of collaborative combat aircraft—semi-autonomous drones meant to fly alongside manned combat aircraft. Northrop Grumman unveiled its new Project Talon aircraft to a small group of reporters at the facilities of its subsidiary Scaled Composites.
