California Reapers relocated
The California Air National Guard’s 163rd Attack Wing has begun operating its six assigned MQ-9A remotely piloted aircraft from its home station at March Air Reserve Base, California. The Reapers and MQ-1B Predators that preceded them had previously been flown from Victorville’s Southern California Logistics Airport in the Mojave Desert. The unit began transitioning to the Predator in 2006 and converted to the Reaper in 2014. The MQ-9s are primarily flown through specific corridors that lead to military training areas at Edwards AFB, Fort Irwin, and Twentynine Palms, but with approval from the Federal Aviation Administration they can be operated outside of the designated routes.
