The 558th Flying Training Squadron at JBSA-Randolph, Tex., held its first winging ceremony for graduates of its undergraduate remotely piloted aircraft pilot training, according to base officials. Gen. Edward Rice, Air Education and Training Command chief, presented the wings to the graduating officers during the May 3 ceremony, according to Randolph’s May 9 release. “The winging ceremony is the culmination of training at the undergraduate level for all aviators,” said Lt. Col. Scott Cerone, 558th FTS commander. “This first winging ceremony aligns undergraduate RPA pilot training with traditional pilot training,” he said. The next step for the graduates is aircraft-specific training at the formal training units located at Holloman AFB, N.M., and Beale AFB, Calif. Up until this point, RPA pilots received their wings only after completion of their FTU course. The 558th FTS is the Air Force’s only undergraduate RPA pilot training unit. (Randolph report by Capt. Ashley Walker) (See also Texan Ingenuity.)
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…