The pilot who has accumulated the most hours in a U-2 reconnaissance aircraft has called it a day. Maj. Greg Nelson completed his final Dragon Lady flight last week, after accumulating more than 2,750 flying hours over nearly 16 years of flying the U-2. He flew at the U-2 base of operations, Beale AFB, Calif., and as a U-2 test pilot at Edwards AFB, Calif., He also flew the high-flying recon bird on combat missions in the war on terror. In September, two other U-2 pilots passed 2,000 hours; perhaps Nelson’s record will stand if USAF retires the U-2, of course concern over a potential intelligence gap could delay that. (USAF report by A1C Robert Biermann)
The U.S. military needs to wake up to the fact that global dominance is no longer a viable strategy for national defense, because pursuing that unrealizable goal is making the country less safe, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee said April 22. Emerging defense technologies like swarms of…