Satellite imagery acquired by Digital Globe shows new runway construction activity at Qatar’s Al-Udeid Airbase. According to diplomatic cables released by wikileaks, the USAF has long wanted a second runway at the site, and in 2008, the Qataris agreed to build and pay for it. That agreement, it appears, has slowed down the progress on the runway […]
The latest satellite imagery from October 2013 acquired by DigitalGlobe shows the French and US drone aprons at Niger’s Diori Hamani International Airport located in Niamey. In January 2013 it was reported that two French Harfang drones from the 1/33 “Belfort” were operating over the skies of Douentza and Gao as 4,000 French troops began retaking the areas from Islamists. […]
Last week at Tyndall Air Force base in Florida, the first unmanned QF-16 Aerial Target flew on September 19, providing fourth generation fighter representation of real world threats. According to the USAF, the 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron and Boeing Co. conducted the flight, representing the first step in a two year process to phase out […]
According to a recent report from the Washington Post, the US military has been forced to relocate its (at least) two combat air patrol of drones based at Djibouti’s Camp Lemmonier to nearby Chabelley airfield, a location approximately 5 miles to the southwest. The Air Force stopped flying drones earlier this month after a series […]
The latest satellite imagery from Digital Globe suggests that the US setup a drone base in Kuwait following the pullout from Iraq. It is now suspected, Kuwait’s Ali Al Salem was the probable home air base of the Predator involved in the October 2012 incident with Iran. Late last year, CNN first reported Iran’s attempt […]
I’ve been seeing references like that everywhere over the weekend. Only one problem, I wasn’t aware that anything had changed. Picking one at random, Elias Groll over at Foreign Policy penned a piece titled “The Sudden and Unexpected Return of the Drone War.” With journalistic flair, he hits all the salient points from the past […]
