The contingent of airmen and F-22s that deployed to Kadena AB, Japan, from JB Langley-Eustis, Va., in late July returned home after completing a roughly 10-week stint in the Pacific, announced Langley officials. These airmen and machines were part of a normal rotation of US combat forces to the region. While at Kadena, the expeditionary unit “performed training” under the direction of Kadena’s 18th Wing, states Langley’s Oct. 22 release. This was the first Raptor deployment to the region since the fleet-wide F-22 standdown in 2011, service officials have said. It overlapped with a Raptor deployment from JB-Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, to Andersen AFB, Guam. The Langley aircrews and maintainers, a mix of more than 200 Active Duty and Air National Guard personnel, began arriving back at Langley on Oct. 13, according to the release. (Langley photo caption by MSgt. Carlos J. Claudio)
The Pentagon could have the option to create a new combatant command devoted to unmanned and autonomous systems if a provision in the Senate Armed Services Committee’s annual defense policy bill becomes law. The legislation is one of several moves lawmakers have proposed in recent weeks to both bound and…