Airmen have been keeping plenty busy in Afghanistan this year, flying more than 162,000 total sorties. That includes about 90,000 combat sorties, 22,000 close air support missions, and 15,000 aerial refueling sorties, said Air Force Secretary Michael Donley during AFA’s Air and Space Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 17. Airmen also have transported more than 1.2 million troops and delivered more than 380,000 tons of cargo, he added.
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…