The Air Force will begin combat search and rescue operations from another base inside Turkey, Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of US European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said Tuesday. The Air Force has moved people and assets to Diyarbakir Airport in the southeast region of the country to expand Operation Inherent Resolve, Breedlove said at the American-Turkish Council conference in Washington, D.C. Some 300 airmen, HH-60G Pave Hawks, and HC-130s “will be on station to provide rescue capabilities to coalition recovery efforts in the fight against ISIL,” Defense Department spokeswoman Laura Seal told Air Force Magazine. US troops “will be guests of the government of Turkey” and there is no plan for a permanent presence at the base. In addition to the new deployment, the US will increase the contingent of strike aircraft flying out of Incirlik Air Base to “step up the fight against ISIL,” officials said.
The Air Force is upgrading some 70 MQ-9 Reapers to a new configuration that will keep the type capable and relevant to the near-peer fight for another 15 years. It awarded General Atomics a $272.3 million contract to enhance the Reaper's weapons, electric power, connectivity, and resistance to jamming, among…