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U.S. Air Force News

  • Sunsetting the MQ-1 Predator: A history of innovation

    The MQ-1 Predator is a remotely piloted aircraft flown by aircrew assigned to the 432nd Wing/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech Air Force Base and units around the world. It has contributed to the U.S. warfighting efforts in unprecedented ways and is scheduled to sunset on March 9, 2018, as the

  • Combat RPAs integral in defeating ISIS

    U.S. forces, coalition partners and Syrian Democratic Forces liberated Raqqah, Syria from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s control in early October 2017. ISIS used the city as its capital for terrorist operations since January 2014.

  • Holloman AFB flies toward future

    The Air Force provides day and night support to troops all around the world, and Holloman Air Force Base’s remotely piloted aircraft training mission is at the forefront.

  • SecAF gets firsthand look at MQ-1, MQ-9 mission

    Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson visited Creech Air Force Base July 19, 2017 to get a closer look at the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper mission.During her visit Wilson toured the base and gained insight into the dominant persistent attack and reconnaissance mission the Airmen of the 432nd

  • Cleared hot: When predators and reapers engage

    Following the mission brief and pre-flight checks, an aircrew consisting of an officer pilot in command and a career enlisted aviator sensor operator observe a target in an area of responsibility overseas from a cockpit in the U.S. and waits for the green light from a joint terminal attack

  • All in a night’s work: MQ-9s maximize airpower downrange

    As many Americans sleep soundly in their beds, Airmen in attack squadrons across the 432nd Wing flying the MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper from cockpits in the continental U.S. are having decisive effects in the fight against violent extremism. In combat operations last week, one MQ-9 squadron stood

  • RPA culture continues innovation

    The RQ-1 Predator, later designated as the MQ-1, was the right aircraft at the right time following the events of Sept. 11, 2001. While the nation was recovering from the largest attack in its history since the bombings of Pearl Harbor, members of the Pentagon prepared for a war they already knew

  • MQ-1 squadron celebrates 100 years

    The 15th Attack Squadron patch depicting a pigeon clutching a telescope harkens to the squadron’s long history of reconnaissance missions. On May 9, 2017, the 15th ATKS celebrated their 100-year anniversary and reflected on the unit’s extensive and honorable heritage, which coincidentally includes

  • First combat MQ-1, MQ-9 wing celebrates 10 years at Creech AFB

    The 432nd Wing celebrated their 10th anniversary at Creech Air Force Base as a combat remotely piloted aircraft wing May 1, 2017. In attendance was Gen. Mike Holmes, the Air Combat Command commander, Col. Case Cunningham, the 432nd WG/432nd Air Expeditionary Wing commander, and 400 Airmen of the

  • Airman balanced through bodybuilding

    As Staff Sgt. Semaj’s alarm screeches throughout her bedroom at 2:30 a.m., she wakes for her morning cardio session, checks on her 6-year-old son, Jamel, and then laces up her running shoes. Semaj, a 432nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron supply craftsman, does this every morning to keep her body in

  • MQ-1, MQ-9 aircrews help liberate Manbij

    In 2016, U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper aircrews assisted coalition partners in the reclamation of Manbij, Syria, from Islamic State of Iraq and Syria forces.Pilots and sensor operators assigned to squadrons across the 432nd Wing and the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing provided the close

  • 11th ATKS paves way with training

    To accomplish flight, two geographically separate aircrews work together: the mission control element and the launch and recovery element. The MCE is responsible for executing the mission, while the LRE conducts takeoffs and landings. While being MCE certified is standard for all aircrews flying the

  • Around the Air Force: March 1

    On this look around the Air Force, the Air Force plans to retire the MQ-1B Predator, the trials for the Air Force Warrior Games are underway, and a C-5 Galaxy transported Apache helicopters for the Army.

  • AF to retire MQ-1, transition to MQ-9

    For the past 21 years, the Air Force has flown the MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft in combat, and for the last 10, the MQ-9 Reaper. Combined with a skilled aircrew, these aircraft provide consistent support in daily engagements making an impact downrange.

  • Eye in the sky: MQ-1, MQ-9s provide increased awareness

    Situational awareness is the ability to know what is happening around a person at any given time. This is especially important for military members, more specifically, troops on the ground. For the men and women operating MQ-1B Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft, their skills of

  • Airmen perform bodywork, ensure capable aircraft

    Sandpaper scrapes along the wing of an MQ-9 Reaper, as debris drifts to the ground and the smell of chemical agents saturate the air. Squeals from an F-16 Fighting Falcon engine fill the temperature-controlled back shop. The Airmen are focused; there’s a job to be done, and it has to be done

  • The evolution of the combat RPA

    In the 1980s, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency added modern-day technology to the decades old idea of using remotely piloted aircraft for reconnaissance purposes. As a result the Air Force immediately purchased a long-endurance RPA called the GNAT 750, resulting in the creation,

  • Inside look: A sensor operator’s first weapons strike

    The feelings experienced during combat missions can be intense for many aircrew members. For Airman 1st Class Matthew, a 20-year-old 15th Attack Squadron MQ-1 Predator sensor operator, his first air strike was an event he will never forget.

  • MQ-1, MQ-9 Millennials make difference on battlefield

    For the one percent of the U.S. population that chooses the path to serve in the armed forces, there are many opportunities. One prospective path in the Air Force lies in the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft enterprise.