An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle sustained damage in a ground accident May 12 at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, after returning from a combat mission. The incident occurred about 10 a.m. local time. A board of inquiry will investigate the mishap. USAF has operated Reapers in Afghanistan since September 2007. They carry Hellfire ground-attack missiles and 500-pound bombs. (Bagram report by Capt. Toni Tones)
Raytheon, a division of defense giant RTX, recently announced a multiyear deal with the Pentagon to increase annual production of the Air Force’s primary dogfighting missile by more than 50 percent from two years ago.
