Factors like mission requirements, communications infrastructure, and reserve component recruiting will be key as the Air Force decides which base will host remotely piloted aircraft ground control stations for an Air Force Reserve Command unit. These Reservists will operate MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper vehicles in support of Air Force Special Operations Command, service officials stated Wednesday in a release. The Air Force is planning to issue the list of candidate locations early next year and then render its final basing decision next June once the environmental impact analysis process has concluded.
The Space Force is playing midwife to a new ecosystem of commercial satellite constellations providing alternatives to the service’s own Global Positioning Service from much closer to the Earth, making their signals more accurate and harder to jam.
