AF didn’t justify GA Reaper fleet

The Air Force didn’t justify its plans to buy a total of 401 MQ-9 Reaper drones worth about $77 billion, according a Defense Department audit. The Air Combat Command, headed by Gen. Gilmary Hostage and based out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., failed to get the OK from the Joint Requirements Oversight Council for an increase in procurement of the Reaper unmanned aircraft, according to a summary of the document released Oct. 1. They also didn’t maintain “consistent … verifiable” records for determining the proper number of the General Atomics-made drone. “As a result, the AF risks spending approximately $8.8 billion to purchase, operate, and maintain 46 MQ-9 aircraft it may not need,” the report states. Lt. Col. Chris Karns, a spokesman for the AF, said the audit provides an incomplete picture of the acquisition program. (Source: DOD Buzz 10/01/14) Central Mississippi Note: The MQ-9 Reaper is the AF’s name for General Atomics’ Predator B UAS. GA’s Tupelo, Miss., facility does most of its work for the U.S. Navy, including advanced launch and recovery systems for aircraft carriers, including the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).