CRAFT WON'T COME HERE PREDATOR STAYS IN LAS VEGAS.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. - The Air Force announced Monday it will terminate environmental studies examining Edwards Air Force Base and a New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). base as possible homes for Predator unmanned spy planes. Air Combat Command announced it will keep all of the Predator aircraft at Indian Springs Indian Springs may refer to:
Edwards and Holloman Air Force Base Holloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Otero County, about 6 miles SW of Alamogordo, New Mexico. It is the home of the 49th Fighter Wing. 49th Fighter Wing The 49th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Holloman Air Force Base. had been considered as possible homes for the aircraft and studies examining the environmental impacts of the basing the planes were under way when the decision was made to consolidate all Predators at Indian Springs. Gen. Hal Hornburg, commander of Air Combat Command, chose Indian Springs because it proved to meet all selection criteria, and it allows the Air Force to efficiently match manpower requirements with the Predator systems, the Air Force said. The Predator - a propeller-driven, 2,100-pound craft guided by operators on the ground linked by radio signals and satellite - has been used by the Air Force in combat since 1995 in Bosnia to spy on enemy forces. In Afghanistan, Yemen and Iraq, Predators were fitted with anti-tank Hellfire hell·fire n. The fire of hell, considered as punishment for sinners. hellfire Noun the torment of hell, imagined as eternal fire Noun 1. missiles and used to attack vehicles traveling along roads. An environmental assessment released last year found no significant environmental impact from adding the additional Predators at Indian Springs. The Nevada base already has 40 of the unarmed, earlier RQ-1 Predators. The newer versions are the MQ-1, the same size as the RQ-1 but equipped to carry missiles - and the MQ-9 Hunter-Killer, a larger turboprop turboprop: see turbine. turboprop Hybrid engine that provides jet thrust and also drives a propeller. It is similar to the turbojet except that an added turbine, behind the combustion chamber, works through a shaft and speed-reducing gears to turn a version able to operate at 40,000 to 50,000 feet. All are made by General Atomics Aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau Systems in San Diego. The Air Force had considered Edwards and Holloman because of their restricted air space. Holloman lies near the White Sands missile range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), approximately three times the size of Rhode Island, making it , and Edwards is at the southern edge of a restricted air space zone that extends nearly to Bishop. The Indian Springs Predators already fly from Nevada to the range north of Edwards for some of their flights, Air Force documents show. Jim Skeen, (661) 267-5743 james.skeen(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: The Predator aircraft will stay at Indian Springs Air Force Auxiliary Field near Las Vegas, adding 443 personnel and 12 aircraft to the base. Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer |
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