Since last spring, dozens of National Guard and active-duty soldiers have learned how to utilize several types of unmanned aircraft systems for reconnaissance, surveillence and battlefield damage assesments.
Those systems include the RQ-11 Raven, the RQ-20 Puma and the RQ-7 Shadow.
“Instead of sending soldiers forward to what we call recon-by-fire, now we can send something out ahead of them, which does not cost a life,” said Major Martin J. Lovelady, facility commander.
“Not only for the State of Mississippi is this important, but it’s important for the rest of the nation as well,” said Warrant Officer Michael Bradburn, of the Regional Flight Center. “The Regional Flight Center was put together to support the entire National Guard and on top of that, we’ve been able to support numerous active-duty units as well,” he said.