Lt. Gen. Joseph Harold Moore, who set a world speed record in an F-105 in 1959, died Dec. 27 at age 92 from lung cancer, reports Associated Press news service. The 34-year Air Force veteran achieved the speed record while serving as commander of the 4th Tactical Fighter Wing, flying at 1,216 mph on a 100-kilometer closed course. A Florence, Tex., native, Moore entered aviation cadet training in 1937 at Randolph Field, Tex., before being sent to the Philippines at the outset of World War II. In 1964, he assumed command of the 2nd Air Division in Vietnam and later served as vice commander of Pacific Air Forces. He retired in 1971.
A recent Air Force contract to buy up to $50 million worth of small drones from Anduril Industries may soon allow the service’s special operations command to transform its MQ-9 Reapers into drone-launching motherships.
