Some UAV Statistics and Operations Info
Posted: 20 Aug 2008, 15:56
From AF Daily Report 20 Aug 08
"Grinding It Out": The Air Force's MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle force amassed 150,000 combat flight hours over the last 14 months, eclipsing the 250,000 hours the Predator had accumulated by June 2007 in its first 12 years of operation. According to an Aug. 19 Air Combat Command release, the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, Nev., flew the 400,000-flight-hour mission in operations over Southwest Asia on Aug. 18. The unit's commander, Lt. Col. Robert Kiebler, said that the 15th RS has taken part in "every major operation" in Iraq and Afghanistan "since the inception of combat operations." According to Col. Christopher Coombs, commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center group that procures the MQ-1, the Predator force now is flying "about 14,000 hours a month." Since 1998, his unit has fielded 165 MQ-1s to meet ever-increasing demand. (To help meet that demand, the Air Force also plans next year to open a second UAV training center in addition to Creech.) Col. Chris Chambliss, commander of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech, praised the entire Predator team--airmen at Creech and at Air National Guard bases--who are "grinding it out to continue to fight over Iraq and Afghanistan every hour of every day." (ACC report by SSgt. Thomas Doscher)
Air Guard Ups Predator CAPs: The Air National Guard's three operational MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle units in Arizona, California, and North Dakota are providing at least seven overseas combat air patrols around the clock for operations in Southwest Asia. Under the Air Force's initial plans for this new Air Guard mission, each ANG unit would have flown one CAP, but increasing demand (see above) for the Predator's dual long-loiter reconnaissance and attack capability has led the Air Force to increase the Predator workload, put every available UAV pilot at a console, and up training. That has prompted, for instance, Lt. Col. Rick Gibney, commander of the North Dakota ANG's 178th Reconnaissance Squadron in Fargo, to put himself back in the MQ-1 aircrew rotation so that the other pilots in his squadron can have some time off. According to Col. Robert Becklund, commander of the NDANG's 119th Wing, which oversees the Predator operations, some two-thirds of his wing's former F-16 pilots opted to retrain for the UAV role. Despite the hectic pace and not flying in an actual cockpit, Becklund said, "We know that Predator is critical to the nation's defense." The 178th RS flew its first CAP in June 2007 and added a second earlier this year. The California ANG's 196th RS flew the Air Guard's first Predator CAP in 2006 and now maintains three CAPs from its March ARB, Calif., facility. The Arizona ANG's 214th Recon Group began flying CAPs in July 2007. The Air Guard is adding another Predator unit in Texas and creating its first MQ-9 Reaper squadron in New York. (Includes National Guard Bureau report by MSgt. Mike Smith
"Grinding It Out": The Air Force's MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle force amassed 150,000 combat flight hours over the last 14 months, eclipsing the 250,000 hours the Predator had accumulated by June 2007 in its first 12 years of operation. According to an Aug. 19 Air Combat Command release, the 15th Reconnaissance Squadron at Creech AFB, Nev., flew the 400,000-flight-hour mission in operations over Southwest Asia on Aug. 18. The unit's commander, Lt. Col. Robert Kiebler, said that the 15th RS has taken part in "every major operation" in Iraq and Afghanistan "since the inception of combat operations." According to Col. Christopher Coombs, commander of the Aeronautical Systems Center group that procures the MQ-1, the Predator force now is flying "about 14,000 hours a month." Since 1998, his unit has fielded 165 MQ-1s to meet ever-increasing demand. (To help meet that demand, the Air Force also plans next year to open a second UAV training center in addition to Creech.) Col. Chris Chambliss, commander of the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech, praised the entire Predator team--airmen at Creech and at Air National Guard bases--who are "grinding it out to continue to fight over Iraq and Afghanistan every hour of every day." (ACC report by SSgt. Thomas Doscher)
Air Guard Ups Predator CAPs: The Air National Guard's three operational MQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicle units in Arizona, California, and North Dakota are providing at least seven overseas combat air patrols around the clock for operations in Southwest Asia. Under the Air Force's initial plans for this new Air Guard mission, each ANG unit would have flown one CAP, but increasing demand (see above) for the Predator's dual long-loiter reconnaissance and attack capability has led the Air Force to increase the Predator workload, put every available UAV pilot at a console, and up training. That has prompted, for instance, Lt. Col. Rick Gibney, commander of the North Dakota ANG's 178th Reconnaissance Squadron in Fargo, to put himself back in the MQ-1 aircrew rotation so that the other pilots in his squadron can have some time off. According to Col. Robert Becklund, commander of the NDANG's 119th Wing, which oversees the Predator operations, some two-thirds of his wing's former F-16 pilots opted to retrain for the UAV role. Despite the hectic pace and not flying in an actual cockpit, Becklund said, "We know that Predator is critical to the nation's defense." The 178th RS flew its first CAP in June 2007 and added a second earlier this year. The California ANG's 196th RS flew the Air Guard's first Predator CAP in 2006 and now maintains three CAPs from its March ARB, Calif., facility. The Arizona ANG's 214th Recon Group began flying CAPs in July 2007. The Air Guard is adding another Predator unit in Texas and creating its first MQ-9 Reaper squadron in New York. (Includes National Guard Bureau report by MSgt. Mike Smith
