Lt. Gen. Gary North, comman
der of Air Forces Central, says the airmen operating the service’s MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles over Afghanistan and Iraq are “absolutely incredible” and “writing history” with their exploits in supporting ground combat forces. He said this during his Jan. 13 visit to the 432nd Wing and its co-located air expeditionary wing at Creech AFB, Nev., hub of Predator and Reaper operations. “From my perspective, the airmen of the 432nd AEW are the finest in the world,” said North, who said he has observed the work of these airmen both in Southwest Asia and now first-hand at Creech. When the books are written on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Predators and Reapers will be “a huge success story,” North said. (Creech report by SSgt. Alice Moore)
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force has unveiled a new electronic warfare drone designed to fly with fighter jets into contested airspace, including alongside its fleet of F-35s. RAF says it plans to develop models that draw on the U.S. Air Force’s approach of mating unmanned systems with crewed platforms.