The ISR Mission After Mosul and Raqqa

The US-led coalition has enough intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to handle the current fight against ISIS, but it needs to prepare for what’s next and how the battlefield will change after allied forces retake the main cities held by the group. Maj. Gen. Jay Silveria, deputy commander of Air Forces Central Command, said at AWS17 the coalition and Iraqi forces will “get in and hold Mosul. Opposition forces will move on Raqqa. But there’s still work to be done.” ISIS will change into a different force, and remain in other areas, and the ISR mission will transition to “listening a lot more than actually watching a moving ground force.” The mission will focus increasingly on signals intelligence used to listen in on the group because it will no longer be gathering in large numbers in cities.