? Some 100 airmen and six F-16s from the South Carolina Air National Guard’s 169th Fighter Wing arrived at Rionegro in northwest Colombia for exercise Relampago 2014, combined air operations training with counterparts from the Columbian air force. This exchange is the first of its kind for the Air Guardsmen under South Carolina’s State Partnership Program with Colombia, according to an Aug. 12 release from 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern). “This is the first time Colombian air force and South Carolina Air National Guard airmen have had the opportunity to work side-by-side, share tactics, techniques, procedures, and engage their counterparts in an operational environment,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Thorne, the South Carolina Air Guard’s SPP director. During the exercise, the two nations’ airmen will practice and share know-how on defensive air operations, operations coordination and scheduling, and best maintenance practices, states the release.
The Air Force is leaning toward a less-sophisticated autonomous aircraft in the second increment of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft, the services chief futurist said. He also suggested that the next increment of CCA may be air-launched, a la the "Rapid Dragon" experiments conducted by the service in recent years.