An RQ-4 is set to land at Robins AFB, Ga., this week, marking the first time a remotely piloted aircraft has flown to an Air Force maintenance depot. The Global Hawk is headed south for a paint job, “to prevent corrosion and deterioration of the aircraft,” according to a Robins press release. The visit will also serve as a trial run for the possibility of establishing a more permanent RQ-4 depot operation at Robins, Brig. Gen. John Kubinec, commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex, told the Macon Telegraph in January. The RPA is scheduled to land at Robins May 10.
U.S. Air Force F-35s and F-22s regularly deploy deep into the Pacific region from Alaska, Utah, and Hawaii. In the future, though, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command would like to see the Air Force permanently station fifth-generation aircraft west of the international date line—closer to China.