Autonomous Surface Craft Help Patrol Panamanian Waters

Oct. 9, 2026

When Exercise Panamax 2026 concluded in mid-August, Panamanian security leaders were impressed with the performance of the Corsair unmanned surface vessels that the U.S. Navy brought along with them.

The Corsair platforms, the same type that recently rescued downed AH-64 Apache pilots off the coast of Oman, participated in the exercise alongside U.S. and partner forces. During that time, they demonstrated the potential of long-endurance uncrewed systems to support maritime security.  

For Panama, those capabilities could help expand the country's ability to monitor maritime approaches, identify suspicious activity, and respond to threats posed by illicit trafficking and regional threat networks. 

In the weeks following Panamax, the U.S. embassy and U.S. Southern Command coordinated with Panama's Ministry of Security to retain the Corsairs for a maritime security mission conducted in partnership with Panama's National Aeronaval Service. 

The effort supports Panama's ongoing work to protect its territorial waters, counter drug trafficking and other illicit activity, and strengthen security along critical maritime routes. 

It also advances the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition's objectives to improve regional coordination against cartels, narco-terrorist networks and other regional threats while respecting the sovereignty and authorities of partner nations. 

"The Corsairs are providing additional patrol craft," said Marine Corps Col. Ian Fletcher, commander of Southcom’s newly established Autonomous Warfare Command. "Their onboard radar and electro-optical sensors provide many of the enhanced detection capabilities associated with a manned patrol craft, allowing operators to maintain awareness over a larger area." 

The long-endurance craft are engineered to operate reliably without an onboard crew. The platforms can maintain a persistent patrol presence across the maritime domain, complementing Panama's existing fleet, aircraft and personnel. 

By integrating uncrewed systems with manned patrol vessels and airborne assets, Panama can expand the area it monitors and increase its potential threat assessment speed. The additional coverage can help crews distinguish routine activity from activity requiring further investigation, enabling manned assets to focus on response and interdiction missions. 

"The platforms can operate alongside manned patrol craft and provide additional information to crews at sea," Fletcher said. "That gives partner forces greater flexibility, improves efficiency, and expands the area they can monitor without requiring additional personnel aboard each vessel." 

The current mission focuses on strengthening maritime awareness and supporting partner efforts against narcotics trafficking, regional threat networks and threats associated with designated terrorist organizations. The platforms operate as a complement to — not a replacement for — Panama's maritime security forces and decision-making authorities. 

Fletcher said the effort also creates an opportunity for Panama and Southcom to assess how additional autonomous systems could support the protection of critical waterways and maritime infrastructure. 

"As we learn from these operations, we can examine where additional autonomous capabilities may increase maritime presence and awareness," he said. "That includes exploring how systems can operate safely and effectively in the canal environment." 

The partnership reflects a shared commitment to regional security: combining Panama's leadership, regional cooperation and emerging technology to counter illicit networks, strengthen maritime security, and help secure the Western Hemisphere and the reliable flow of commerce through the Panama Canal.

Legendary Fighter Takes Final Flight: Air Force Reserve Delivers F-117A to Smithsonian

Oct. 9, 2026 | By Air Force Staff Sgt. Alexis Morris, 512th Airlift Wing |

Nearly two decades after the Air Force retired the F-117A Nighthawk, one took to the skies again, this time in the cargo hold of a C-5M Super Galaxy.  

The historic stealth aircraft will soon join the permanent collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. The Air Force Reserve's 512th Airlift Wing, based at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, delivered the aircraft to the Smithsonian team Oct. 6. 

The two-day, cross-country mission required precise weight distribution and tight clearances to fit the 29,500-pound load into the C-5M's cargo compartment. For the 512th Airlift Wing, executing high-consequence, strategic airlift operations was business as usual, even when the payload was a piece of aviation history. 

"Growing up in the '90s and 2000s, I remember thinking of the F-117 as the most unique plane," said Air Force Maj. Billy Hafker, a 709th Airlift Squadron instructor pilot and the mission commander. "Being able to move it to the Smithsonian to preserve it for future generations is an incredible opportunity, and we're all honored to do it." 

Hafker said C-5 cargo missions require airmen from several career fields, including flying crew chiefs and pilots. After landing in Palmdale, California, the crew conducted pre-loading operations to stage the aircraft for cargo. Within two hours of landing, the loadmasters carefully maneuvered and secured the detached Nighthawk wings in the cargo hold, while leaving room for the fuselage. 

Loading the fuselage was delayed overnight because the mandatory number of tie-down points required a mechanical team to work through the night to fabricate and install them.   

"It was a little difficult to load in, but we got the job done," said Senior Airman Lucas Richard, a loadmaster assigned to the 709th Airlift Squadron. "This is probably one of the coolest pieces of cargo that I've ever seen."

As of January 2021, the Air Force has retained approximately 48 F-117As in its inventory and disposed of approximately four aircraft each year since grounding the fleet in April 2008. The demilitarization process to deem an aircraft worthy of museum display requires a coordinated effort between the War Department and its industry partners. 

"There's a lot of people that participate in a project like this," said Jeff Corbets, program manager at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, who led the restoration project. "Demilitarization was the most difficult piece, but I think it went really smoothly, all things considered." 

The aircraft earned the nickname "The Overachiever" as the only F-117A to fly in all four major conflicts in which Nighthawks served: Operations Just Cause, Desert Storm, Allied Force and Iraqi Freedom. During its 1991 participation in Iraq, it flew 1,271 sorties, achieving an 80% mission success rate while suffering no battle damage. The jet retired in 2007. 

As the historic aircraft takes its place on the museum floor for more than a million visitors each year, the mission itself serves as a victory for the 512th Airlift Wing. Beyond preserving history, the operation successfully showcased the advantage of the Air Force Reserve in action — delivering unprecedented combat capability and professionalism to the joint force.

USS Abraham Lincoln Returns to San Diego After 10-Month Combat Deployment

Oct. 9, 2026 | By Navy Chief Petty Officer Joseph Montemarano, USS Abraham Lincoln, Pentagon News |

The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln departed its home port Nov. 21, 2025. In the 321 days since casting off lines from San Diego, the ship and its crew sailed across the Pacific Ocean, through the San Bernardino Strait, Surigao Strait and Strait of Malacca, and into the South China Sea, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

The ship steamed more than 93,000 nautical miles, conducted 72 replenishments-at-sea and received more than 20.5 million gallons of aviation fuel during the operations. The Lincoln's crew also supported more than 13,000 aviation sorties from Carrier Air Wing 9 aircraft, totaling 28,500 flight hours.

"[The] USS Abraham Lincoln and the entire carrier strike group team set a new standard of excellence through their extraordinary conduct during this historic deployment," said Navy Rear Adm. Robert Loughran, Carrier Strike Group 3 commander. "I am incredibly proud of each and every sailor, Marine and member of this team for what they have accomplished under the most demanding conditions. Their professionalism, resilience and combat effectiveness have been unmatched. We now look forward with great excitement to their well-earned reunion with family and loved ones."

After arriving in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in late January, the carrier and its strike group, Carrier Strike Group 3, spearheaded the Navy's involvement in Operation Epic Fury, taking the lead role on the southern Iranian coast as Commander, Task Force 50. 

The strike group, with the Lincoln at its center, supported 40 days of major combat operations, involving nearly 4,000 combat sorties from the air wing. Task force units destroyed more than 100 Iranian drone, missile and small boat attacks against the force, with the wing delivering more than 1.5 million pounds of ordnance on thousands of targets in support of operational objectives. This concentrated firepower significantly degraded Iranian navy capabilities.

Following the April 8 ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran, the strike group shifted gears, leveraging its skill and expertise toward enforcing a maritime blockade. The strike group's ironclad blockade against Iranian-flagged vessels in the northern Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman denied the flow of Iranian oil and material, ensuring U.S. leaders could engage in diplomatic negotiations from a position of strength.

"Conducting major combat operations, enforcing two naval blockades, and demonstrating our presence and power projection capabilities in multiple numbered fleets, all while keeping an unprecedented operational tempo for a long period of time, is truly remarkable, and demonstrates the strength and resilience of the 5,000 sailors and Marines across this strike group," said Navy Capt. Dan Keeler, USS Abraham Lincoln commanding officer. "This team is literally rewriting the book of what an aircraft carrier is capable of, and it has been awe-inspiring to watch them grow as a team through this historic deployment."

In response to Iran's attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz in July, the Lincoln and air wing supported strikes against Iran's coastal defense systems, cruise missile storage and launch sites. The strike group then bolstered the second naval blockade of Iranian shipping and ports until departing the Centcom area of responsibility, Aug. 22, to begin its return transit home.

The Lincoln completed brief, overnight stops for supplies in Guam in December 2025 and just last month, as well as in Duqm, Oman, in July. The ship also conducted a port call in Pattaya, Thailand, last month. The ship's 208 uninterrupted days at sea between Guam and Oman, and its 286 consecutive days at sea between departing San Diego and arriving in Thailand, are record-breaking marks for modern aircraft carriers.

"I could not be prouder of the group of sailors and Marines aboard this mighty warship for everything they have accomplished the last 10 1/2 months," Keeler said. "We asked a lot of these warfighters, and every time, they rose to the occasion, achieving the mission with pride, professionalism and expertise."