Two T-6 Texan II training aircraft collided Nov. 28 around 1 p.m. over the Columbus AFB, Miss., auxiliary airfield in Shuqualak. The four airmen ejected safely; the aircraft crashed. And, in Iraq, the Air Force has lost another MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle. It crashed in an unpopulated area on Nov. 29 at about 11 a.m. local time. The Air Force says accident investigations have begun on each incident.
Defense experts say the drone threat represents only part of a larger, looming problem: U.S. air bases in the Pacific are increasingly vulnerable to air attacks.