Pacific Air Forces units are participating in Cope Tiger ’06 in Thailand, along with military forces from Thailand and Singapore. The exercise started Feb. 6 and runs through Feb. 18. Some 1,300 personnel—about 300 from PACAF units—are working in “a very challenging scenario,” according to exercise director USAF Col. Jeffery LeVault. Cope Tiger enables USAF airmen to practice tactical-level skills and build relationships with partner nations, he said. PACAF forces include A-10s from Osan AB, South Korea and an E-3 AWACS from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, as well as KC-135 tankers and C-130 airlifters from various units.
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.
