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.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.