UAVs, network-centric ops top talk at air chiefs meeting
The movers and shakers of the airpower world were out in force here Saturday for the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference.

The movers and shakers of the airpower world were out in force here Saturday for the Dubai International Air Chiefs Conference. Organized by the Institute for Near East & Gulf Military Analysis–the UAE-based think tank–the conference featured presentations from nine air force commanders or their deputies.

Gen. Norton Schwarz, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force, described the new career field that he has recently approved for the operators and maintainers of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). Although the USAF has been flying MQ-1 Predators, MQ-9 Reapers and RQ-4 Global Hawks for years, “we still have a lot of cultural and operational adjustments to make,” he said.