The world’s largest combat search and rescue exercise has a new planning committee. The Air Force on June 24 activated Det. 1 of the 414th Combat Training Squadron at Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., which will be responsible for planning exercise Angel Thunder—the world’s largest combat search and rescue exercise. The exercise includes Air Force pararescumen and survival, evasion, resistance, and escape specialists, along with joint, multinational, and interagency partners focusing on real world and simulated scenarios. “They can walk away after being exposed to highly dynamic and challenging scenarios and learning those lessons so they don’t have to learn them in combat,” Maj. James Humphrey, director of operations for the new detachment, said in an Air Combat Command release.
RTX’s Raytheon unit was able to “significantly” extend the range of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile using mostly software changes in experimental tests last year, expanding the reach and lethality of the standard U.S. dogfighting weapon, company officials said Sept. 15.
