The remotely piloted MQ-1 Predator aircraft officially will retire this summer.
The Air Force has found something younger ― and a bit larger ― with more horsepower and better sensors, that can fly higher and faster, and carry more ordnance: the MQ-9 Reaper.
The phase-out of the MQ-1 already has started, so it’s an appropriate time to say thank you to the Predator for 20-plus years of selfless service.
The Predator was the original unmanned recon and intel drone, and has helped keep troops safe the past two decades. It wasn’t designed to carry weapons, but it did, and it has quite an impressive hit list.
“The Predator has been a workhorse in Iraq, Afghanistan and the fight against ISIS.” said Lt. Col. Douglas, 361st Expeditionary Attack Squadron commander, in an Air Force press release. “When you see the results everyday on the battlefield, it’s unfathomable at times.”
Though the Air Force will save money using the MQ-9 full-time, we can’t say goodbye without saying thanks to the Predator for paving the way.
“It’s a very humble aircraft, but we’ve brought a lot to the fight with its modest capabilities,” Douglas said. “The aircraft’s mission is tremendous and it has opened the doors to the future.”
The crew of the Research Vessel Petrel, led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is on a roll.
The Defense Department on March 8 announced that troops deployed to Niger, Mali and northern Cameroon qualify to receive imminent danger pay/hostile fire pay, retroactive to June 7, 2017.
The other services should pay attention.
The daggers flew this weekend when a disparaging military rant by a California high school teacher went viral.
A technical sergeant from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada came under fire recently after she shared a racially-charged, expletive-laced rant to Facebook.
The jury deadlocked and reached no verdict on charges against a fifth defendant, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Relatives say Lois “Bunny” Drueke spoke to her son Alexander Drueke, one of two Alabama veterans captured earlier this month in Ukraine, via telephone.
Four wives of fighter pilots dish the details you don’t see in the Hollywood films on this episode of The Spouse Angle.
Providing savings to service members is of particular concern right now due to the inflation in food prices.
The Supreme Court allowed a former state trooper to sue Texas over his claim that he was forced out of his job when he returned from Army service in Iraq.
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