The drone retrievers

When there are tall waves, mean currents and high winds, the last thing anyone wants to do is jump into open water. But for the commercial divers aboard one of three 82nd Aerial Targets Squadron's Missile Retrievers, it's part of the job. The 82nd ATRS, a Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla., tenant unit, is the only subscale aerial target provider in the Air Force, housing nearly 30 BQM-167A remote-controlled drones, which are water and land recoverable. The drones are a means to test and evaluate air-to-air weapons, the effectiveness of counter measures during sorties and the effectiveness of the weapons systems. The 82nd ATRS is a geographically separated unit of the 53rd Wing headquartered at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. (Source: 325th Fighter Wing Public Affairs, 01/25/13) Related. Note: Stennis Space Center, Miss., is involved in unmanned systems. In addition to having companies that work with unmanned systems, SSC is home of the Navy organization that operates a fleet of unmanned underwater vehicles worldwide.