Air Force remotely piloted aircraft have dropped 1,160 weapons on ground targets in Afghanistan since 2009, according to newly released data from Air Forces Central. That includes 255 releases in 2009, 278 in 2010, 294 in 2011, and 333 during the first 10 months of 2012, states AFCENT’s release on the airpower statistics for Southwest Asia through Oct. 31. The release is dated Nov. 7. The Air Force flies armed MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers over Afghanistan, along with various other unarmed RPAs, like RQ-4 Global Hawks. Predators carry Hellfire air-to-surfaces missiles, while Reapers operate with Hellfires and 500-pound precision-guided bombs. (See also our Nov. 13 airpower statistics summary.)
It is critical that the Air Force move forward on the replacement for its E-4B “Doomsday” aircraft to keep the capability “viable” into the next decade and beyond, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. told lawmakers May 8.