Members of the California Air National Guard’s 163rd Reconnaissance Wing at March Air Reserve Base inaugurated the unit’s new $5 million, 17,500-square-foot hangar at the Southern California Logistics Airport in Victorville. The state-of-the-art facility, meant to support the wing’s remotely piloted aircraft schoolhouse, is the Air Guard’s first hangar specifically designed for RPAs. It accommodates two MQ-9 Reapers or three MQ-1 Predators; an adjacent fabric “big top” hangar can protect an additional two Reapers or five Predators, according to the wing’s July 2 release. Construction of the hangar commenced in August 2010. The facility’s ribbon-cutting ceremony took place on June 15 with dignitaries including Army Maj. Gen. David Baldwin, California’s adjutant general. (Victorville report by MSgt. Julie Avey)
After a long period in which munitions were almost an afterthought and sacrificed to pay for other priorities, the Air Force needs to focus on them in order to have the right “package” of capabilities for future conflicts, Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. said June 7.