The Air Force on Wednesday took over control from the Army of the special operations terminal attack controller course offered at Yuma Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. Yuma’s local KSWT TV news reported that a change-of-command ceremony was held that day. According to the Yuma Sun’s July 7 report, Air Force Special Operation Command’s Special Tactics Training Squadron will now manage the roughly four-week course, which trains troops from all of the military branches to be joint terminal attack controllers so that they are skilled in how to direct close air support of ground troops. “We are taking over exactly as the Army has done it for the last five or six years,” said Air Force Col. Paul Harmon in the KSWT report.
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.