A Texas Air National Guard wing last month reached 100,000 flying hours on the MQ-1B Predator. The 147th Reconnaissance Wing, stationed at Ellington Field Joint Reserve Base in Houston, reached the milestone on Oct. 8, according to a wing release. The wing has been flying the Predator for seven years, after transitioning from F-16s in 2005 and beginning unmanned flights in July 2008. “To put 100,000 hours in context, that amount of time is equivalent to flying for 11.41 years non-stop, and we did it in just seven years,” 111th Reconnaissance Squadron Commander Lt. Col. David Peck said in the release.
The House of Representatives passed a massive appropriations package with defense funding Jan. 22, moving lawmakers one step closer to passing a budget for fiscal 2026 and avoiding another government shutdown. The spending package includes cuts in funding for the B-21 Raider bomber and the LRSO missile.
