Eglin AFB, Fla., is a candidate to host an Air Force Reserve Command MQ-1 remotely piloted aircraft squadron. If the Air Force leadership ultimately decides to station this unit at Eglin, the base would welcome about 140 Reservists and associated equipment. There would be no beddown of MQ-1 aircraft there, only ground control systems. That’s because these airmen would control Predators in flight that are operating out of distant or overseas locations under a set-up called remote split operations, or RSO, and through use of satellite communications links that make the remote control possible. AFRC officials will begin conducting detailed evaluations at Eglin. They will brief the results to the USAF leadership, who will then select the preferred location for the unit. Announcement of the preferred site is anticipated this summer. (Robins report)
A new Navy missile could fill a long-range air-to-air need for the U.S. Air Force’s fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation fighters. The Navy’s portfolio acquisition executive for munitions posted information on the AIM-424 Long Range Air-to-Air Missile online on Aug. 22, the same day it unveiled the project at the service’s…