Lt. Gen. Donald Wurster, Air Force Special Operations Command boss, said Tuesday at AFA’s Air & Space Conference that one of the more remarkable recent success stories has been the command’s development and expansion of intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance tools. As combat air patrols have increased in Southwest Asia, Wurster said, the command has added MQ-9 Reapers of the 33rd Special Operations Squadron to the capability provided by the MQ-1 Predators of the 3rd SOS, as well as adding a second intelligence analysis and dissemination capability with the 56th Intelligence Squadron to that of its 11th IS. Adding this ISR capability to AFSOC “has been so successful we are in constant demand,” Wurster said.
The U.S. has approved a $310.5 million Foreign Military Sale to provide Ukraine with maintenance and training for its F-16 fighter jets, the State Department announced May 2. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has been sending retired F-16s to Ukraine to be used for spare parts.