Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania issued a statement Nov. 12 withdrawing a plan that would have given new life to NAS JRB Willow Grove. He wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that the plan for Willow Grove to host military, homeland defense, and emergency preparedness missions is kaput, because he said: “federal authorities have firmly signaled that they do not intend to assign an Air Guard flying mission to this installation. Lacking that mission, it’s difficult to justify state expenditures.” BRAC 2005 put the facility on its hit list, sending Air National Guard (111th Fighter Wing) and Air Force Reserve Command (913th Airlift Wing) aircraft elsewhere. (Navy and Marine Corps aircraft also moved out.)
Pentagon Task Force, FAA to Test Counter-Drone Laser
March 7, 2026
The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force announced it would conduct a high-energy laser test with the Federal Aviation Administration less than a month after the use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border prompted the FAA to shut down the airspace over El Paso, Texas.