Reaping the Lost…

Posted on by March 6, 2013

MQ-9 Reaper

The 29th Attack Squadron Airmen at Holloman AFB, NM used an MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft launched from there to help locate missing kayakers in the Gila National Forest near the base. This was the first time that an Reaper was allowed to operate outside of Holloman’s FAA-approved airspace to assist in a search-and-rescue mission,  according to Holloman officials.
“To be able to fly in the national airspace, there is a lot of coordination that has to take place to allow this to happen,” said Maj. Dustin Pittman, assistant operations director of the base’s 29th Attack Squadron, a flying training unit that operates Reapers. “This is a big step forward to . . . extend ourselves outside our normal flying ranges,” he stressed.
Air Combat Command received the call for assistance on the search and “as soon as the approval came, the 29th Attack Squadron had plans ready and people in route,” added Pittman. The Reaper provided overhead imagery of a riverbed, aiding authorities in locating the two missing sportsmen on April 2.
They done good 🙂  And I’m pretty sure it was NOT loaded out like the one in the picture…
Once again, the military stepped up to the plate and assisted in saving lives, and where is the coverage in the MSM???
…crickets…
Sigh

Comments

Reaping the Lost… — 8 Comments

  4. Oh, evil things! Bury our heads; it will go away.

    Wonder if the MSM realizes how luck this country is to have the patriots that man our forces? Eh, probably not. I, for one, am damn grateful.

  5. That’s good news. And hopefully it was practice that the crew can put to use in more hostile regions of the planet.

  6. I think Congress just passed some Law that allows UAVs to Fly in most Airspaces now.

    Now if I could just trust my Gooberment to use them only for Good Purposes…..

  7. Ed- Yeah, I ‘noticed’ that…

    Ten- Yep, and bunches of folks are upset!

    DT- Yep, sigh

    WSF- I doubt it WSF!

    Andy- It was, and it is… 🙂