USAF accepts its final Predator remotely piloted aircraft, tail No. 268. The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems medium-altitude RPA, originally dubbed RQ-1, progressed from first flight in July 1994 as an intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance-only asset to an MQ-1 version armed with Hellfire missiles. The Air Force continues to buy its successor, the larger, more-capable MQ-9 Reaper.
The Air Force conducted its first successful test of the Air-launched Rapid Response Weapon, or ARRW, on May 14, snapping a streak of three consecutive failed tests and giving the beleaguered hypersonics program a much needed boost. Off the coast of Southern California, the AGM-183A ARRW separated from the wing…