Four HH-60G helicopters and four HC-130 rescue tankers from Air Force Reserve Command’s 920th Rescue Wing were expected to be ferried yesterday form their home base at Patrick AFB, Fla., to Montgomery, Ala., to escape the projected path of Tropical Storm Hanna. The storm was over the southern Bahamas as of mid-day Wednesday and expected to hit US Southeast coastal areas within days. Further, the activities of about 70 wing airmen who were providing search-and-rescue support in the aftermath of Hurricane Gustav were temporarily suspended. In the interim, geographically separated wing members at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., are in position at Ellington, Tex., to provide SAR in the areas affected by Gustav. (Patrick report by Capt. Cathleen Snow)
Lockheed Martin’s proposed autonomous drone, called Vectis, is still on track to fly a prototype by the end of 2027, an official from the company’s Skunk Works division said Sept. 10, and the firm already started work on four more Vectis aircraft.
