Fun for me coming soon. https://www.marines.mil/News/News-D...-assessment-for-home-basing-two-new-aircraft/ This paves the way for the basing of a KC-130J squadron here; it also modernizes an existing squadron – Marine Unmanned Aerial Squadron 3 (VMU-3) – by replacing its current RQ-21 (Blackjack) unmanned aircraft with the MQ-9 aircraft. The KC-130J aircraft will belong to a new squadron, VMGR-153, which will begin flight operations with two aircraft in early 2023. VMGR-153’s aircraft numbers are expected to increase over the next few years, with a final strength of 15 KC-130J aircraft arriving by fiscal year 2026. Two MQ-9 aircraft are also anticipated to arrive in 2023, replacing the RQ-21 unmanned aircraft that VMU-3 has flown for the past four years. The anticipated final end strength of MQ-9s will be six aircraft by fiscal year 2025. These aircraft will be based in the historic Hangar 102. I did see an MQ-9 nearby a while ago. Hmmm. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year All!
