The US-led coalition has delivered a “small” number of armored vehicles to fighters with the Syrian Arab Coalition in recent days—a move the coalition says is a large increase in US support. Coalition spokesman Air Force Col. John Dorrian said the US recently “divested” the Guardian armored vehicles, a heavily modified Ford F-550, to the Syrian Arab Coalition to support their advance on the ISIS-held city of Raqqa. The Syrian Arab Coalition is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which the US has backed as they advance in Syria. An SDF spokesman told Reuters that the delivery is a sign of “full support” from the US, more than before. The vehicles will help the coalition face small arms and improvised explosive device threats from ISIS, Dorrian said.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.