Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, Brian covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times. Over a decade as a defense journalist, he has reported from dozens of bases at home and abroad, including austere airstrips in Afghanistan, the cockpit of a B-52 over the South Pacific and the boom operator station of a KC-46. Before the military beat, Brian covered the Washington state legislature for the Associated Press.
The U.S. Air Force wants to privatize its helicopter pilot training, turning to industry to provide all aspects of initial training for pilots headed for its chopper cockpits.
The Pentagon’s initial development of counter-unmanned aerial system capabilities was specifically focused on Middle East base defenses, but the Russia-Ukraine war has shown that the capability needs to be deployed globally with tactical units also able to down the drones, the U.S. Army’s officer in charge of the mission says.
