The Air National Guard is retiring its entire fleet of 11 RC-26 Condors, the Air Force said Jan. 6. The twin-prop plane had an often under-the-radar but sometimes controversial role as a reconnaissance aircraft used for both counterdrug and homeland security missions. A converted civilian ...
Of the scores of legacy aircraft the Air Force has sought, year over year, to retire, many reside in the Air National Guard, making up a small but sizable portion of the Guard’s 1,046-aircraft fleet. But while the proposed retirements would have an outsized impact ...
Every year, Congress and the military debate which combat assets should head to the boneyard and which have more life left in them. Lawmakers often opt to keep Air Force systems that bring jobs to their districts, which complicates matters as the service looks to ...
Air National Guard reconnaissance aircraft are tracking the spread of record fires across California, with unmanned and manned aircraft providing video to help with the response. The California Air National Guard’s 195th Wing’s 234th Intelligence Squadron is using video feeds from MQ-9s and at least ...
A redacted Air Force Inspector General investigation report released Aug. 21 determined that Air National Guard RC-26B flights conducted over protests in Minnesota, Arizona, California, and Washington, D.C, didn’t collect citizens’ personal information, but the National Guard Bureau made some serious missteps in its utilization ...
The Pentagon is wrapping up multiple reviews of how the military supported local law enforcement and deployed aircraft during widespread protests across the country, particularly in Washington, D.C., the Pentagon’s top leaders told House lawmakers July 9. Officials are also looking for lessons that help ...
Civil-unrest response efforts should be undertaken by law-enforcement authorities, not U.S. troops, National Guard Bureau Chief Air Force Gen. Joseph L. Lengyel said July 2 during an event hosted by the Brookings Institution think tank. “In my opinion, uniforms, I don't care what flavor they ...
The District of Columbia Air National Guard’s support of the law-enforcement response to civil unrest in the nation’s capital following the May 25 death of George Floyd in police custody concluded at midnight on June 22, DC National Guard spokesperson Senior Master Sgt. Craig Clapper ...
An Air National Guard RC-26 aircraft that was tracked over the nation’s capital last week amid civil unrest following the Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in police custody belonged to the West Virginia Air National Guard, ANG spokesperson Lt. Col. Devin Robinson told Air ...
Two Air Force intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft escaped the chopping block in the joint, draft fiscal 2020 defense policy bill, but the aircraft are still under congressional scrutiny. At issue are the RC-135, a small fleet with multiple varieties of planes used to gather ...