Air Force Ramps Up MQ-1 Predator Deliveries | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.20.24

Airborne-NextGen-05.21.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.15.24 Airborne-AffordableFlyers-05.16.24

Airborne-Unlimited-05.17.24

Sun, Jul 15, 2007

Air Force Ramps Up MQ-1 Predator Deliveries

Goal Of 21 UAV Patrols By End Of 2009

Air Force Chief of Staff General T. Michael Moseley is accelerating delivery of the Defense Department's December 2009 goal of 21 daily MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle combat air patrols, or CAPs, by one year.

At the chief of staff's request, Air Force officials coordinated deployment actions with the Joint Staff and Central Command to increase three additional Predator CAPs, boosting full motion video and rapid strike capability to the Joint Force commander in Iraq. Two of these CAPs are expected to be active this summer or early fall, reports Air Force Print News.

"The Predator provides a tremendous capability for our joint and coalition forces on the ground," said Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, the deputy Air Force chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. "The Air Force is pushing to expand Predator air patrols for Admiral (William J.) Fallon's use as quickly as possible."

Admiral Fallon is the commander of US Central Command.

Currently, Airmen operate 12 Predator CAPs providing combat capability to joint forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The acceleration is possible due to the chief of staff's "total force" approach to fielding enhanced combat capability. The recently increased Predator training capacity, and the inclusion of additional Air National Guard Airmen supports both increased flight operations and a more robust exploitation of Predator data.

Each Predator CAP provides 24-hour, seven days a week combat operations. They are flown by both active duty and Air National Guard personnel through secure communications to bases in Nevada, California and North Dakota. The Air Force also will begin flying Predator combat operations from Arizona next week, all part of the chief of staff's "total force" approach in combining Active, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard capabilities in a much more inclusive and effective manner.

The Air Force continues to deploy all operational Predator assets and will look to sustain this combat capability as new production aircraft, ground stations and aircrew are delivered. To fully man this new level for Central Command, the Air Force will maintain 160 "total force" Predator crews, up from 120 last year.

The Predator is an armed multi-role intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance asset with sophisticated sensors and weapons delivering critical combat capability to U.S. and UK forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This weapon system has the capability to find, track, and, if necessary, strike an enemy threat with immediate effect. This type of tactical agility is imperative to neutralize insurgent activity. The Air Force's Predator is the most requested medium- or high-altitude UAV in the US Central Command theater of operations.

FMI: www.af.mil

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.19.24): Back-Taxi

Back-Taxi A term used by air traffic controllers to taxi an aircraft on the runway opposite to the traffic flow. The aircraft may be instructed to back-taxi to the beginning of the>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.19.24)

“Our WAI members across the nation are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the formidable group of WASP who served so honorably during World War II. This group of brave>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (05.20.24)

“Many aspiring pilots fall short of their goal due to the cost of flight training, so EAA working with the Ray Foundation helps relieve some of the financial pressure and mak>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.20.24): Blind Speed

Blind Speed The rate of departure or closing of a target relative to the radar antenna at which cancellation of the primary radar target by moving target indicator (MTI) circuits i>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.20.24)

Aero Linx: International Airline Medical Association (IAMA) The International Airline Medical Association, formerly known as the Airline Medical Directors Association (AMDA) was fo>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC