The Air Force is on track to have 50 combat air patrols of remotely piloted aircraft in place by the end of Fiscal 2011, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley told attendees Friday at AFA’s Global Warfare Symposium in Los Angeles. On top of that, the service has already successfully deployed 30 MC-12 manned intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft “in record time from concept to combat,” he noted. And, it continues to meet combatant commanders’ needs in Afghanistan and Iraq in other areas such as airlift and space-based capabilities, he said. “All of us are grateful for the hard work that goes in to that,” he said, adding: “But I will tell you, unfortunately, we have little time to revel in our gains as the future is rapidly coming on us.” The US now has to work harder than ever to maintain its advantage in the face of rapid global technology advancements. That said, Donley echoed the Defense Department’s new mantra, saying the Air Force simply is going to have to do more with less. “The resource outlook for the immediate future is not at all promising,” he said.
The last remaining T-1 Jayhawk at JBSA-Randolph, Texas, took its final flight to the "Boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., on July 15. The 99th Flying Training Squadron will train pilots using T-6 and simulator until it gets T-7 Red Hawk in fiscal 2026.