The Air Force is planning to completely get rid of its fleet of RC-26 surveillance planes that help counter drug smuggling at the border by the end of the month in a move that multiple service members described as a "drastic change" that came without warning, the Washington Examiner reported.
The sudden shift also comes as the Biden administration is already facing harsh criticism for what many consider as its lax policies at the border and as it tries to deal with a sharp rise in fentanyl deaths nationwide.
"The impact this plane and these operators have had in reducing, disrupting, and damaging operations of illegal narcotics has been amazing, and I am proud to have served alongside you," one pilot wrote to his colleagues in an email, according to CNN.
The Air Force earlier this year told pilots it would be scrapping the fleet of RC-26 planes starting in April 2023 due to a lack of funding from Congress, according to internal memos obtained by CNN.
However, last month pilots were suddenly told to fly their planes to the "boneyard" by the end of the year so that the aircraft could be scrapped for parts, according to documents.
"We are the only capable border plane," GOP Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who flies the RC-26 plane for the National Guard, told CNN. "We were pulled from the border under Biden, and they are now killing us."
In addition, law enforcement officials have also said that the Biden administration's decision to retire the aircraft will harm their ability to counter drug trafficking, particularly the large quantities of fentanyl being smuggled at the southern border.
It is not clear if the Air Force will continue these efforts with other aircraft, but sources told CNN there are not currently plans to replace the fleet's capabilities.
Kinzinger said that Air Force leaders have decided they no longer want to fund the piloted missions, asserting that unmanned drones can be offered up for counter-drug missions.
Critics also point out that with the decision to eliminate the RC-26 fleet, the Air Force is expected to lose 80 of its pilots at a time when it is already facing a servicewide shortage of pilots, sources told CNN.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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