SSgt. Justin Wilson, an F-15E crew chief deployed to the 494th Expeditionary Aircraft Maintenance Unit at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, spotted an anomaly on a Strike Eagle just prior to its take off March 12. He alerted the aircrew to return to the parking area. The aircraft had checked out fine during pre-flight, but Wilson said as the fighter made its turn “the left rudder was fully deflected to the right and the right rudder was perfectly straight. It was not a normal condition. He said, “I knew that the pilots were not actually making this happen and something must be wrong.” MSgt. Jason Bruder, 494th AMU section chief, said the incident “could have definitely cause some problems,” adding that Wilson “wasn’t a part of that launch, was paying attention, and saw the break and took action, and all of our crew chiefs are all like that.” (Bagram report by SSgt. Richard Williams)
The nation needs a better-coordinated policy for dealing with unmanned aerial systems that threaten domestic bases, Air Force vice chief of staff Gen. James C. Slife told a panel of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He and Pentagon acquisition and sustainment chief William LaPlante co-chair a panel looking at counter-UAS…