AF Flies 10 Predator, Reaper Lines in Exercise; Kenneth Johnson Comments
Earlier this month, the Air Force set a non-combat record by flying six MQ-9 Reapers and four MQ-1 Predators, both made by General Atomics, simultaneously over Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico.
According to an Air Force release, the 29th Attack Squadron, 9th Attack Squadron and the 6th Reconnaissance Squadron all participated in the exercise Oct. 2.
The three units recently increased their training lines from six to 10, consisting of the aircraft, a ground control station and all maintenance and flight personnel required to keep an aircraft airborne.
“In the last year alone, the work the operations and maintenance RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) teams accomplish every day has grown by two-thirds,” said Col. Kenneth Johnson, 49th Operations Group commander.
Teams consisted of instructors and students, both fulfilling roles as pilots and sensor operators.
The Air Force said a typical flight time for an RPA is around eight hours with multiple training missions occurring during that time.
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