June 19,
2008: After firing the civilian and
military leaders of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Secretary of Defense has
ordered the new commander of the air force to get two dozen additional MQ-1
Predator UAVs over to Iraq and Afghanistan. Another four MQ-9 Reaper UAVs will
be sent as well. These will join about a hundred Predators that are already
over there. The Predators are particularly valuable because they can patrol an
area constantly, or simply keep their camera on one spot, round the clock (with
UAVs operating in shifts.) The new Chief of Staff of the Air Force was selected
for his ability to get things like this done, and the fact that he was not a
fighter pilot. Previous air force chiefs had pleaded lack of resources and
concentrated on building new F-22s.
