N.Y. Times Shocker: U.S. Army Flies UAVs

The New York Times stunned the worlds of military aviation and Washington yesterday. Its scoop? That the U.S. Army, frustrated with lack of unmanned aircraft combat support from the U.S. Air Force, has launched its own air surveillance unit in Iraq. The revelation of Task Force Odin (for observe, detect, identify and neutralize) was a surprise--at least to those in military aviation and Washington who don't read Rotor & Wing. We reported over a year ago that the Army had melded "U.S. Army Beech/ Raytheon C-12 Hurons fitted with special sensors and the General Atomics Warrior and AAI Corp. Shadow unmanned aerial systems with Boeing AH-64 Apaches and other helicopters" into a unit to hunt and kill insurgents planting bombs along Iraqi roads. For related news