|
AZ Nat'l Guard to get Predators
EFLDrones will soon rise in southern Arizona skies after a tag team of Gov. Janet Napolitano, Sen. John McCain and congressman Jim Kolbe got unmanned aerial vehicles stationed at two of the region's military installations. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson 60 miles from Mexico and Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista 20 miles from Mexico will share the fifth RQ-1 Predator squadron active in the U.S. military. The Arizona Air National Guard squadron joins three Air Force squadrons operating in Nevada and a fourth run by the California Air National Guard. Once fully operational, about 350 personnel will come to the area as part of the new squadron, said Maj. Paul Aguirre, Arizona National Guard spokesman. The new unit will be deployed on missions worldwide. "This is a real feather in the cap for the Arizona Air National Guard." The MQ-1 Predator is a system, not just an aircraft. A fully operational system consists of four aircraft (with sensors), a ground control station, a Predator Primary Satellite Link, and approximately 55 personnel for deployed 24-hour operations, according to a military fact sheet. In a Jan. 12 letter to National Guard chief Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, Napolitano said putting the aircraft close to the border in the hands of the Arizona Air National Guard, which has had no problem recruiting the personnel to run the program, would be in the military's best interest. Will they be used along the border to try to stop illegal immigration? Officials aren't saying. Napolitano has assigned certain Guard units to the border to help federal officials head off illegal immigrants, but it is too early to tell if Predators will assist that effort. If she continues to lead handily in her reelection bid, it's doubtful, but if she falters... Posted by: Sninenter Chomock3996 2006-03-16 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=145612 |