The New York Air National Guard’s 174th Fighter Wing in Syracuse may begin conducting MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft training flights over the Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York as early as June. The Associated Press reports (via the Wall Street Journal) that Col. Charles Dorsey, wing vice commander, last week outlined the plan to the Adirondack Park Agency commissioners. The MQ-9s would operate out of Fort Drum north of Syracuse near Watertown, according to AP. Air Guard officials are still working out the details of this plan. The 174th FW relinquished its F-16 flying mission in June 2008 as part of BRAC 2005. Since then, it’s become the first Air Guard unit to operate the MQ-9, including in combat over Afghanistan. It also runs a Reaper maintenance schoolhouse. A Reaper flies more quietly than an F-16.
NASA Boss: Race to Moon Has National Security Stakes
Sept. 15, 2026
NASA is pushing hard to get astronauts back to the moon by 2028—and the urgency is driven in no small part by the national security implications of doing so before China does, Administrator Jared Isaacman said Sept. 15.
