Mountain Roundup, an air combat training exercise starts Thursday at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, and runs through Oct. 30. The 366th Fighter Wing is hosting the event that includes Air Force F-15 and F-15E fighters, HC-130 combat-rescue tankers, and AT-38C fighter trainers, along with Marine Corps AV-8 Harriers and F/A-18C fighters, Navy EA-6B electronic-attack platforms, and German Air Force PA-200 Tornado ground-attack aircraft. “It’s a large-force exercise that gives us a chance to fight in a complex and demanding scenario with emphasis on force integration,” said Capt. George Grkovic, chief of receptions for the wing’s plans, programs, and assessments office. (Mountain Home report by SrA. Samantha S. Crane)
Bell Textron has won DARPA's contest for a no-runway, high-speed drone that will prove out technologies useful for special operations forces and possibly the Air Force's Agile Combat Employment concept. Bell's design converts a tiltrotor to a jet-powered aircraft able to fly at up to 450 knots.