Shaw Airforce Base opens new facility for attack drone operators
SUMTER, S.C. (WIS) - Sumter’s Shaw Air Force Base opened a new facility this week for drone operations.
The 25th Attack Group (ATKG) is a unit within the U.S. Airforce that’s geographically assigned to the 432nd Wing at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada.
According to a news release from Shaw, the new facility will allow for “vital” operations with the aircraft MQ-9 Reaper, a remote aircraft used on overseas operations.
“Having a permanent facility provides a better quality of life and increased work performance for the Airmen of the 25th Attack Group,” said U.S. Air Force Col. Trevor Merrell, 25th Attack Group commander in a news release.
Merrell called the facility a “new and improved home” for the aircraft crew.
“The MQ-9′s mission capabilities are increasingly sought-after and this infrastructure improvement will improve our ability to continue our critical 24/7 missions,” he said.
The new facility is nearly four times the size of Shaw’s old facility and took several years to build, according to a news release.
The facility also has several units for tenants, according to Col. Kristoffer Smith, 20th Fighter Wing commander and Shaw AFB installation commander.
The 25th Attack Group was activated in 2018.
“It is our responsibility to provide quality-of-life and infrastructure enhancements like this new facility to better serve the Airmen assigned to Shaw, and ultimately, to deliver more effective airpower,” Smith said in a release.
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