Leaders of the 21st Special Tactics Squadron at Pope AFB, N.C., tell the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer that the unit has half of the 50 enlisted Combat Controllers it is authorized. And, they say, more than half of the current enlisted group have less than four years experience. Air Force leadership is well aware of the problem and have begun encouraging more personnel to enter the critical battlefield airman career fields, ramping up training, but it takes extensive training—two years for combat controllers. (Read more about Battlefield Airmen.)
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall caught a ride in the front seat of a modified, artificial intelligence-piloted F-16 on May 2, a high-profile show of confidence in the service’s autonomous technologies—and another key step in maturing that technology for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program.