According to one military official familiar with the situation, senior National Guard leaders in Washington could watch the footage recorded from the aircraft on their cellphones in real time. It is unclear what the small Guard unit from Pennsylvania’s 148th Air Support Operations Squadron was doing in Washington. One military official familiar with surveillance operations said the Air Force troops would likely be directing the aircraft over the city and ensuring that it was avoiding sensitive airspace such as airport approaches. Another document, which detailed the number of troops sent from the dozen states to support the National Guard effort in Washington, said that Pennsylvania had sent seven troops. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania National Guard said in an email that he had no immediate comment.

Source: New York Times June 18, 2020 22:52 UTC