Pacific Air Forces’? premier large-force employment exercise, Cope North, will kick-off with a new disaster relief command exercise at Andersen AFB, Guam, next month, officials announced. The Philippines, South Korea, and New Zealand will take part in the first week’s disaster relief and humanitarian assistance scenarios, including the first-ever, two-day tabletop exercise. Planners added a disaster relief element to Cope North in 2014, following the devastating Philippine Typhoon. The Air Force, Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, and Japan Air Self Defense Force will launch air-to-air and air-to-ground combat scenarios the second week of the exercises, culminating in strike missions over the Farallon de Medinilla range, 160 nautical miles north of the island. Some 100 aircraft from 23 units and nearly 2,000 US and partner military personnel plan to take part in the exercise Feb. 10 to 26, according to a PACAF release.
This year’s Association of the United States Army’s annual meeting buzzed with talk of countering the rapidly evolving drone threat facing the entire U.S. military, including the Air Force. Leaders and defense industry officials discussed the need for new approaches to procurement and employment of a new class of these…
