Arkansas Air National Guard Participates in Reaper Smoke 26 at Nellis AFB

EBBING AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Ark. – Three Arkansas Air National Guard Reaper operators took part in Reaper Smoke 26, a two-day exercise held April 15-16, 2026, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada.

The Arkansas team competed against the full Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) enterprise. This included active-duty units from Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), plus Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command units, and U.S. Marine Corps participants.

The exercise was designed to evaluate crew performance in dynamic scenarios with limited notice. Crews received the tactical scenario on day one and had approximately 24 hours to prepare and execute missions in a simulator environment. This format allowed greater flexibility to test new tactics, procedures, and crew resource management.

According to Lt. Col. Jonathan Linn, the 184th Attack Squadron commander, the biggest challenge was approaching the event with no prior awareness of the scenario and executing with minimal preparation time.

Reaper Smoke 26 also helped advance Total Force Integration by uniting diverse RPA units to better understand each other’s limitations, share practices, and identify ways to bridge gaps in standards.