Predators Swarm To The Middle East

June 19, 2008:  After firing the civilian and military leaders of the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Secretary of Defense has ordered the new commander of the air force to get two dozen additional MQ-1 Predator UAVs over to Iraq and Afghanistan. Another four MQ-9 Reaper UAVs will be sent as well. These will join about a hundred Predators that are already over there. The Predators are particularly valuable because they can patrol an area constantly, or simply keep their camera on one spot, round the clock (with UAVs operating in shifts.) The new Chief of Staff of the Air Force was selected for his ability to get things like this done, and the fact that he was not a fighter pilot. Previous air force chiefs had pleaded lack of resources and concentrated on building new F-22s.