Starting Tuesday, airmen preparing to attend Army-taught combat skills training prior to deploying overseas for a joint expeditionary tasking must possess a current and passing fitness assessment, according to new Air Education and Training Command guidance. These standards already apply to Air Force-taught combat airman skills training. “Joint expeditionary training courses can range from 21 to 70 days, and are very physically demanding,” explained Lt. Gen. Douglas Owens, AETC vice commander at Randolph AFB, Tex. He continued, “Due to the physical demands of the courses, and requests from air expeditionary group commanders, airmen will be required to have a passing fitness assessment on record before attending CST.” An airman without this fitness assessment may only attend CST if a medical provider gives him a certified letter, endorsed by his wing commander, that he can complete the training’s physical tasks. (Randolph report by Capt. Omar Villarreal)
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force has unveiled a new electronic warfare drone designed to fly with fighter jets into contested airspace, including alongside its fleet of F-35s. RAF says it plans to develop models that draw on the U.S. Air Force’s approach of mating unmanned systems with crewed platforms.