An Air Force MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle crashed Aug. 1 at about 10:45 a.m. (local time) just north of Joint Base Balad in Iraq, according to an Aug. 1 release. There was no indication as to what caused the accident, but the service said a board would investigate. Another Predator crashed on June 2 in Iraq; word on the cause of that crash is still pending.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.