Cotton Relieves Ray at Top of Global Strike Command

Aug. 27, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

Gen. Anthony J. Cotton received his fourth star and took charge of Air Force Global Strike Command on Aug. 27, pledging to shepherd the two Air Force legs of the nuclear triad through a “major transition,” a reference both to much-needed modernization and increasing strategic competition.

Cotton, a career missile and space officer, cited rising threats from Russia and China, pointedly noting reports that China has added numerous intercontinental ballistic missile silos and that Russian President Vladimir Putin claims to have modernized 80 percent of his nation’s nuclear arsenal.

But Cotton also noted the challenges facing the Air Force’s nuclear enterprise, citing modernization like the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent and the Long Range Standoff weapon system, which will each take about a decade to mature. “We need to masterfully execute the modernization of the nuclear portfolio,” Cotton said. “We need to have agile technology infused in our systems, ready to adapt to future challenges. We also need to sustain our current force and keep it capable and ready until replacements arrive.”

AFGSC must heed the call of call to “accelerate change or lose” voiced by Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr.

Cotton takes command of AFGSC after nearly two years as its deputy, serving under Gen. Timothy M. Ray, who retired in July and officially handed over the reins Aug. 27.

“Tony, I couldn’t have asked for a better teammate,” Ray said. “We never had to be boss and deputy, we were just two senior leaders trying to sort it all out. I couldn’t have asked for a better interlocutor, a better teammate to talk at the strategic level. … In our conversations, it was an instant connection.”

China and Russia, who Ray called “Dragon” and “Bear,” pose an existential threat that Global Strike will have to contend with for years to come, Ray said. “We’re entering an unprecedented time … that will pose probably one of the toughest strategic challenges to who we are.”

Brown, who presided over the promotion ceremony that immediately preceded the change of command, praised the leadership of both Ray and Cotton, saying they had instilled an innovative, responsive culture at Global Strike Command.

“There are a few things that the Air Force can never get wrong. Ensuring the safety, the security and the reliability of two-thirds of our nation’s nuclear triad is binary. We must never fail,” Brown said. “That is why Gen. Cotton is a perfect choice to inspire and lead this command into the future. Throughout Tony’s career, he has demonstrated great vision, courage, and leadership.”

In addition to serving as deputy commander, Cotton previously commanded the 20th Air Force, the 45th Space Wing, and the 341st Missile Wing. He also served as commander and president of Air University from 2018 to 2019.

That stint in charge of the 20th Air Force, Cotton said Aug. 27, was particularly meaningful to him, because it is the same numbered air force that his father served in throughout his own Air Force career.

“He was my biggest hero, and I’m blessed to follow in the footsteps of that Chief, my dad, Chief Master Sergeant James Cotton,” he said.

Cotton is the first Black commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, and one of only a handful of Black four-star generals in Air Force history. He acknowledged that Aug. 27, saying he was “humbled to stand on the shoulders of icons” like Gen. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., the first Black brigadier general in the service, Gen. Daniel “Chappie” James Jr., the first Black four-star, Gen. Lloyd W. “Fig” Newton, Gen. Lester L. Lyles, Gen. Larry O. Spencer, Gen. Darren W. McDew and Brown, the first Black Chief of Staff. Cotton said each of them, as well as former Chiefs of Staff Gens. Larry D. Welch and Curtis E. LeMay, were all inspirational in his career.

Allied Space Chiefs Tout Partnership, Domain Awareness

Aug. 27, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

The United States and its allies must partner more closely to ensure space domain awareness in an increasingly complex and important domain, leading military space leaders said during a panel discussion in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Space leaders representing 23 nations, including the the United Kingdom, Finland, Japan, France, Germany, and Chile, joined U.S. Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond on Aug. 26, sharing their perspectives and embracing their cooperative spirit. “What you’ll see with these partners is we exercise together, we train together, we wargame together, we build capabilities together for the first time,” Raymond said.

But speaking Aug. 25 at the National Space Symposium, Raymond said the partners can do more to integrate networks and information systems to advance their shared mission of assured access to space in the face of demonstrated anti-satellite capabilities developed by China and Russia.

Essential partnerships

German Lt. Gen. Klaus Habersetzer, speaking just a month after his country stood up the Bundeswehr Space Command, said partnership is essential. Germany merged its civilian and military space resources a decade ago and ramped up international cooperation. “The challenges are simply too big to tackle alone,” he said.

Habersetzer called for better organization and coordination of investment among the allies. “This command is a perfect platform, a prerequisite for personnel exchange, the development of common procedures, exchanging of experiences, lessons identified, and lessons learned, and last but not least, creating a common space situational awareness,” he said.

British Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston said “operational collaboration,” including integrating capabilities, equipment and “getting people working together,” should be a common objective among the allies. De-classification could help in that process, he said.

“We would all recognize that there are some aspects of what goes on in space that have probably been too highly classified for too long, and there is a need to share that information,” he said. “In particular, share that information around domain awareness and what is going on.”

Wigston reiterated Britain’s call for the United Nations to establish norms of behavior in space as a coordinated response to Chinese and Russian anti-satellite weapons development.

“The UK believes strongly that an open and resilient international order is fundamental to all of our security and prosperity, and that means people playing by the rules,” he said.

The French, who stood up a space command in 2010 and developed a space defense strategy in 2019, sent liaison officer Col. Laurent Rigal to U.S. Space Command in July.

French Air Force Maj. Gen. Michel Friedling sees resiliency through redundant capabilities as one of the fruits of cooperation. “According to our strategy, we have a huge field of cooperation regarding space operations,” he said— “from strategic communication to the ability to operate together, which requires common vision of threats, but also compatible doctrines, interoperable procedures, and capabilities and shared space domain awareness.”

Adversary awareness

Finland’s Air Command chief Maj. Gen. Pasi Jokinen noted that today’s on-orbit systems do not “fully support operations in the northern latitudes.” Only through coordinated cooperation do the allies gain such capabilities, he said. “There’s a lot to defend in space, and cooperation and partnerships are required because nobody can do space alone.”

Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Gen. Shunji Izutsu said rules will prevent conflict. “Space is nowadays very, very crowded, and if a fight occurs in the space, it means a gunfight in a crowded city,” he said. “Rule-making is very, very important.”

Izutsu said the same common approach developed for international air traffic control 50 years ago should be applied to the space domain.

Raymond underscored the urgency of defining responsible behavior in space, touching on the five tenets released by Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on July 7.

“It just goes back to every warfighting domain: There’s rules for safe and professional behavior, and we don’t have that today in space,” Raymond said, noting that publicly calling out bad actors has helped. “It’s been very valuable to have not just one country messaging but multiple countries messaging.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 10:02 a.m. on Aug. 30 to correct the rank for the Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force Gen. Shunji Izutsu.

More Bases Accept Afghan Evacuees as Aug. 31 Deadline Looms

Aug. 27, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

More U.S. military bases are accepting Afghan evacuees as pressure mounts to complete the airlift mission out of Kabul following of the suicide attack that killed 13 U.S. troops.

The Pentagon announced Aug. 27 that Holloman Air Force Base, N.M., will join Marine Corps Base Quantico and Fort Pickett in Virginia in accepting refugees. The Pentagon also reported that the U.S. and its allies had evacuated 105,000 people from Afghanistan since Aug. 14.

The Pentagon said the Aug. 26 ISIS-Khorasan suicide bomb attack outside the airport killed 13 U.S. troops, including 11 Marines, one Soldier, and one Sailor. Despite initial reports of two bombings, the investigation has determined there was just one explosion, said Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor, the Joint Staff’s deputy director of regional operations, in a briefing.

The attack did not stop evacuations, and about 8,000 people departed the airport the same day.

“We have seen firsthand how dangerous that mission is. But ISIS will not deter us from accomplishing this mission,” Taylor said. “We appreciate your thoughts and prayers for all of our service members who are carrying on this mission today. Above all, we remain focused on evacuating American citizens and other personnel designated by the Department of State, safeguarding the lives of those whom we are providing assistance, and keeping American troops safe.”

In the final days approaching the Aug. 31 deadline, troops will start to carry out their equipment and depart the country. There were still about 5,000 U.S. service members at the airport Aug. 27, but Pentagon Press Secretary John F. Kirby said the department will no longer announce exact numbers and capabilities as the mission winds down.

U.S. troops at the airport have begun controlled demolition of equipment at the airport to prevent it from falling into Taliban or ISIS-K hands, though radars and other capabilities required for air operations remain so that planes can continue flying until the last moment.

Kirby said U.S. forces will continue to fly out evacuees to rescue as many as possible. At least 5,000 evacuees were still awaiting flights Aug. 27.

“As we get closer, … you’re gonna see us begin to make those muscle movements to pull out our troops, and some of our equipment, as appropriate with any retrograde,” Kirby said. “What we want to do is preserve as much capability for as long as we can, both in terms of the security footprint, but also in terms of the ability … to move out evacuees.

“Lives are still the priority,” he said. “We will try to continue to get as many out as possible.”

What ‘Digital Force’ Really Means—and How to Build One

Aug. 27, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

Members of the military and the defense industry tackled what Air Force Brig. Gen. John M. Olson called the “ethereal or amorphous or ambiguous” concept of a “digital force” in a panel talk at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., on Aug. 25.

Space Force Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond announced his vision in May for the Space Force to become the first “digital service.” But, what does being a “digital force” really mean, and how do you build one?

Here’s what the panelists had to say:

Define It

One consensus: Data provides the backbone of a digital force.

A digital force is “powered by data, and the power has to be [at] your fingertips,” said Stephen Kitay, senior director of Microsoft’s cloud service Azure Space. That means “anytime, at any security level, anywhere in the world—or, off the world.”

Write Detailed Requirements

Often the ability to field a new system comes down to whether the digital infrastructure is ready to go, said Scott Nowlin, strategic systems chief engineer for Air and Space Force Solutions at BAE Systems.

“It really gets down to the requirements,” Nowlin said. For example, “How fast do you need it as a warfighter?” he asked. ”It’s not just the warfighting requirements—it’s the requirements for your digital infrastructure. … The No. 1 imperative is to help define those requirements, and a digital force, a data-intensive force, shouldn’t shy away from that.”

Measure Outcomes

Measuring the outcomes of programs or missions may be more difficult in the digital domain, but “it’s vitally important to ‘measure what matters,’” said Olson, who is both mobilization assistant to Raymond and the Space Force’s acting chief technology and innovation officer, highlighting an expression he likes to use.

Data may be the backbone, but “it’s what we do with that data” that really matters, Olson said—”Turning that into actionable information at the ‘speed of need.’” To do so, the services collectively need to “drive toward those metrics or measurements that allow us to know when we get there.”

Build In Scalability

Building a digital force applies to more than weapons systems or intelligence. Carol Erikson, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of systems engineering and digital transformation, says even “back-office functions” need to be addressed.

“In order to scale, we need to be able to apply these digital capabilities very specifically to the unique program requirements and mission areas that need the capabilities—but you also have to be able to expand across the whole enterprise,” Erikson said. “How do we manage the digital transformation of our business processes, our program management processes, our global supply chain processes, so that across the board all of our functions are operating at the ‘speed of relevance’?”

Break Down Data Barriers

The panelists cited barriers to accessing all the data that a service will need to become a “digital force,” including over-classification on the government side and legal agreements on the commercial side.

To help remedy that?

“Elevate the importance of addressing the security barriers,” Erikson said, including both the often long process of receiving approval to operate at a given security level; and the difficulty of exchanging data across security levels.

“What can we do to bridge the gap across all of our integrated systems so that we really can get access to that data?” Erikson said. “We have to have tough discussions about data covenants, and … standards—interoperability standards between models, or standard taxonomy across companies—that then can make it easier for our mission customers to, again, leverage that data to the most effectiveness.”

Space Development Agency to Issue RFP for Tranche 1 Transport Layer This Month

Aug. 27, 2021 | By Abraham Mahshie

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Space Development Agency will soon issue an official request for proposals for its Tranche 1 Transport Layer, which will provide the Defense Department a range of options for sharing information if signals are jammed or systems destroyed. The solicitation comes as the Department of the Air Force moves out on plans to build a more resilient satellite architecture.

“Resiliency isn’t just about the individual satellite—it’s about the architecture, and it’s about a range of features that you can bring to bear,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 24.

The Space Development Agency on Aug. 30 will release a request for proposals for up to 144 satellites that would eventually form a transport layer of 300 to more than 500 satellites in low Earth orbit. The massive constellation will provide assured, resilient military data and conductivity over 95 percent of Earth with at least two satellites at any given time. One satellite will be in view over 99 percent of the locations on Earth to provide constant, worldwide coverage with optical inter-satellite links that perform better than existing radio frequency links.

Space Development Agency Director Derek M. Tournear told journalists at the symposium that the first tranche of satellites to enhance transportation and tracking are scheduled to launch in late 2024.

“That’s kind of what we think the reality is at this point,” he said, when asked if that’s too long to wait. “We have fiscal realities, and then we have production realities that have to be matched.”

The constellation will be capable of processing a high volume of data with minimal delay, forming the “backbone” for combined joint all-domain command and control to quickly deliver sensor-to-shooter and direct-to-weapon connectivity, according to SDA.

Kendall said the Air Force has long talked about employing a disaggregated and proliferated satellite architecture for greater resiliency.

“Instead of putting all of our value, if you will, into one or two satellites, we distribute it out over a wider architecture, [which] makes it harder to attack,” Kendall said. “What we need to do first is make sure we understand our requirements and what it is we’re going to try to buy, and then you move out as quickly as you can.”

In the future, Kendall said tools like automated manufacturing and abbreviated testing can be used to save money. “Those are all part of the process potentially,” he said.

Chief of Space Operations Gen. John W. “Jay” Raymond said the fundamental building blocks are already in place to “make that shift toward a more resilient architecture,” noting he has the capabilities to protect satellites currently on orbit.

“As we’ve said all along, we will be prepared to protect and defend our capabilities. We are prepared to do that today,” Raymond said.

DOD Continues Flow of Aid to Haiti after Earthquake, Tropical Storm

Aug. 26, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

The Defense Department’s joint task force in support of Haiti has helped saved hundreds of lives in the past two weeks, a Pentagon official said, supporting relief efforts for the island nation as it recovers from back-to-back natural disasters.

On Aug. 14, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake shook the country, causing widespread destruction and resulting in at least 2,200 deaths. Two days later, Tropical Storm Grace hit, bringing wind and rains that resulted in flooding.

An Air Force C-130 deployed to Haiti on Aug. 15, carrying a team from U.S. Southern Command to assess the impact of the earthquake. U.S. Southern Command also established Joint Task Force-Haiti, with the Navy using ScanEagle drones and P-8 Poseidon planes to provide aerial images of the areas affected by the earthquake and four helicopters—two UH-60s and two CH-47s—providing airlift support for relief efforts.

On Aug. 25 in a press briefing, Army Maj. Gen. William D. “Hank” Taylor provided an update on DOD’s contribution to humanitarian relief efforts.

As of Aug. 24, the joint task force has conducted more than 346 missions across air, land, and sea since arriving in Haiti, Taylor said, using DOD and Coast Guard assets.

As a result of those missions, the military has assisted or saved “over 436 lives” and delivered more than 163,000 pounds of aid supplies, Taylor said.

Lives saved are counted “when disaster victims are rescued or evacuated with life-threatening injuries or from conditions that pose a direct or potential life-threatening risk,” Jose Ruiz, a U.S. Southern Command spokesman, told Air Force Magazine.

“This lifesaving aid and assistance mission is where DOD’s unique capabilities, specifically in airlift and logistics, are engaged each day to get that lifesaving aid where it needs to be rapidly,” Taylor said.

The number of DOD aircraft in Haiti has increased as well—on Aug. 24, Taylor said four MV-22 Ospreys from the U.S. Marine Corps had deployed to the island to bolster 18 DOD and Coast Guard aircraft already supporting the mission, including a Coast Guard C-130. A number of naval ships also have deployed.

The Air Force has deployed four C-130s of its own to Haiti, all from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., Ruiz told Air Force Magazine. Specially-trained airfield management personnel deployed as well.

“We know there is much, much more work to do in Haiti to help the Haitian people,” Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby said Aug. 23. “And we’re committed to being there and to doing that, for as long as possible.”

Kabul Airlift Continues After Suicide Bombing Kills 13 Troops, Dozens of Afghans

Aug. 26, 2021 | By Brian W. Everstine

The U.S. airlift mission in Afghanistan is continuing, following one of the deadliest attacks on American forces in the 20-year war.

An expected Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) suicide bomb attack killed 13 U.S. service members and injured 15 more at a gate leading in to the Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26. Dozens of Afghans crowding the gate to the airport in desperation to leave the country also were killed, and many more injured.

“These American service members who gave their lives … were heroes. Heroes who have been engaged in the dangerous, selfless mission to save the lives of others,” President Joe Biden said in remarks at the White House.

U.S. military commanders were “unanimous” in their recommendations to continue the mission of evacuating Americans and qualified Afghans from the country, Biden said. The U.S. “will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission.”

American officials believe they know the ISIS-K members behind the attack, and those responsible will be hunted down.

“To those who carried out the attack, … we will not forgive, we will not forget,” he said. “We will hunt you down and make you pay. I’ll defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command.”

U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr., in a briefing, said he expects more attacks on American forces as the airlift continues, but American planes will continue to airlift Afghans and U.S. citizens from Kabul.

“We continue to focus on the protection of our forces and the evacuees as the evacuation continues,” McKenzie said. “Let me be clear, while we’re saddened by the loss of life, both U.S. and Afghan, we continue to execute the mission.”

U.S. forces have monitored “threat streams” of more possible attacks by ISIS, including targeting aircraft taking off. Some coalition planes have seen small-arms fire, and while aircraft such as U.S. Air Force C-17s, have countermeasures, he does not believe ISIS has a surface-to-air missile threat. The group is also reportedly looking to use other suicide bombs, including vehicle-borne ones, to target the airport.

U.S. forces have shared “versions” of this intelligence to the Taliban outside the gates of the airport, and McKenzie said he does not believe the group is connected to or allowed the Aug. 25 attack to occur.

At the airport, U.S. forces are flying surveillance aircraft such as MQ-9 Reapers and other drones to monitor the situation. Navy F/A-18s, USAF F-15s and MC-130s, and Army AH-64s also are flying above the airport.

While the U.S. troops have attempted to push back some of the perimeter for safety, there’s no other way to search potential evacuees than face-to-face.

“This is close-up work,” McKenzie said. “The breath of the person you are searching is upon you. While we have overwatch in place, we still have to touch the clothes of a person that’s coming in. I think you all can appreciate the courage and the dedication that is necessary to do this job, and to do it time after time.”

As of Aug. 26, service members at the airport had searched approximately 104,000 people as part of the evacuation mission. After the attack, there were 5,000 people at the airport awaiting airlift, and “a number of buses” came on to the airfield in the hours following, McKenzie said.

“The plan is designed to operate while under stress and under attack,” he said. “And we will continue to do that. We will coordinate very carefully to make sure that it’s safe for American citizens to come to the airfield.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, in a statement, said terrorists killed the service members “at the very moment these troops were trying to save the lives of others.”

“We mourn their loss. We will treat their wounds. And we will support their families in what will most assuredly be devastating grief,” he said. “But we will not be dissuaded from the task at hand. To do anything less—especially now—would dishonor the purpose and sacrifice these men and women have rendered our country and the people of Afghanistan.

Department of the Air Force leaders in an Aug. 26 statement expressed sympathy to the U.S. servicemembers and Afghans killed in the attack.

“U.S. Air and Space Force personnel will continue our work supporting the safe evacuation of U.S. citizens and other evacuees from Afghanistan,” the statement said. “Our collective resolve will not be deterred by these senseless attacks, and we will remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to others.”

Editor’s Note: This story was updated at 6:07 p.m. on Aug. 26 to include additional information from the White House.

Boeing Anticipates Anti-Jamming Advancements in Next Two Years

Aug. 26, 2021 | By Amanda Miller

Two programs to help prevent or mitigate the jamming of communication signals from satellites could become operational in 2022 and 2023, according to a top defense contractor.

Rico Attanasio, director of tactical military satellite communications for Boeing Defense, Space, and Security, briefed reporters on the programs Aug. 23 at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Boeing’s legacy Wideband Global SATCOM constellation of 10 military communications satellites provides “a majority” of the military’s “high-data-rate SATCOM capability,” supplemented by commercial contracts to add resilience and meet demand, Attanasio said.

“And that demand just keeps growing,” he said. “Today’s platforms generate tons of data, right?” At the same time, threats have to be contended with that could disrupt WGS communications for users on the ground. “They have to have that connection,” he said. “That’s vital.”

Attanasio said Boeing often develops technology commercially that it then applies on the government side of the business, including space technology over the decades. He equated the advances Boeing is trying to make in satellite broadband with the advancement of smartphones and smart houses.

He provided updates on some of those advances, including MAJE, or Mitigation and Anti-Jam Enhancement, a ground-based upgrade to the WGS constellation that takes advantage of the satellite fleet’s inherent “flexibility and reprogrammability” to “geolocate interferers and mitigate them with beam shaping.”

MAJE is expected to locate sources of jamming, or interference, and reshape a satellite’s coverage area to exclude those sources and lower the signal interference.

A series of virtual tests in the last quarter of 2020 proved the system could locate sources of interference. Boeing is “in the process of preparing to do the steps it takes for final checkout and deployment,” Attanasio said.

He said MAJE will be deployed at five ground stations around the world over the course of several months starting in 2022.

Meanwhile, initial operational capability on another anti-jamming system could happen by the second quarter of 2023.

PTES, or Protected Tactical Enterprise Service, would allow two radios, for example, to communicate via a government-developed wave form with “anti-jam capability,” Attanasio said. Boeing’s part of the project is to develop “the system around it—how do we manage it, how does it work, and so forth.”

He said PTES has proved to be a “true agile development program,” with rapid iteration and partners collaborating in the cloud. Boeing and MIT Lincoln Lab demonstrated “the PTES capability” in recent weeks using a commercial satellite.

13 US Troops Killed in Kabul Airport Explosion, Deadliest Attack in Afghanistan Since 2011

Aug. 26, 2021 | By Greg Hadley

Editor’s note: Pentagon officials later said in a briefing Feb. 4, 2022, that an investigation revealed the attack was conducted by a single bomber and no gunmen.

Two explosions rocked Kabul on Aug. 26 just outside Hamid Karzai International Airport, killing 13 U.S. service members and injuring more than a dozen others, Defense Department officials have confirmed.

The attack, coming just days before President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw from Afghanistan, is one of the deadliest against American troops in nearly 20 years of war. These are the first U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan since February 2020 and the most in a single day since 2011.

In a series of tweets starting the morning of Aug. 26, Pentagon spokesman John F. Kirby first confirmed an explosion near Abbey Gate outside the airport, then a second one at the Baron Hotel, located near the Abbey Gate.

At first, Kirby said there were “a number” of casualties to U.S. personnel and civilians. Several hours later, however, he released a statement confirming service member deaths. At a press briefing that afternoon, U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie confirmed reports that a dozen service members had died. U.S. Central Command later released a statement announcing a 13th service member had died.

McKenzie also confirmed reports that the explosions were caused by suicide bombers, believed to be members of the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch, followed by gunfire from other fighters. ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack.

In remarks delivered the evening of Aug. 26, Biden said he had directed military commanders to develop plans to strike back against ISIS-K’s “key assets, leadership, and facilities” in response to the attack.

“Those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive.
We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay,” Biden said. “I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command. Over the past few weeks … we’ve been made aware by our intelligence community, that the ISIS-K … has been planning a complex set of attacks on the United States personnel and others.”

According to a report from the BBC, at least 60 total people died in the attack, and more than 140 others were injured.

Defense and intelligence officials had warned of an attack by ISIS-K. In a press briefing Aug. 25, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said that there was a “very real possibility” of an attack by the terrorist group, and Biden said in a speech the same day that “every day we’re on the ground is another day that we know ISIS-K is seeking to target the airport.”

ISIS-K and the Taliban are not allied—in fact, the two groups have fought in the past. However, media reports, citing defense officials, have said ISIS-K is targeting the airport in an attempt to cause mayhem as the U.S. withdrawal reaches its final hours.

On Aug. 25, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a security alert, telling Americans to avoid traveling to the airport and instructing citizens at three gates to leave immediately because of security threats. One of the three gates—Abbey Gate—is where the Aug. 26 explosions occurred.

Despite the Aug. 26 attack, though, the U.S. military will continue its evacuation efforts, McKenzie said. Since the end of July, the U.S. has evacuated 101,300 Americans, Afghans, and third-country citizens fleeing the Taliban, who seized control of the country with shocking speed in the past several months. The vast majority of evacuations—over 90,000—have taken place since Aug. 13.

There are still around 5,000 people left at the airport seeking to be evacuated, McKenzie said, as well as thousands of U.S. troops who will have to withdraw by Aug. 31 as well. Blinken also said Aug. 25 that there are hundreds of American citizens still in Afghanistan too. That leaves just a few days to complete the massive airlift operation, all while monitoring “threat streams” for additional ISIS attacks, McKenzie said.

Prior to Aug. 26, Biden had stuck firm to his commitment that the U.S. would depart Afghanistan completely by Aug. 31, though he also said he had directed the Pentagon to draw up contingency plans in case troops needed to stay longer. After the attack, he reiterated his plan to leave by Aug. 31, saying “we must complete this mission and we will.” At the same time, however, he pledged to rescue any American who wishes to leave, saying that even after troops withdraw, “we will find them and we will get them out.”

The Taliban, meanwhile, has said it will not willingly accept any American military presence after Aug. 31.

Even before the two bombings, the security situation at the airport, which is located just a few miles from Kabul’s city center, had been tense, with instances of violence and chaos since the evacuation mission began.

On Aug. 16, hundreds of Afghans breached the airfield and swarmed U.S. Air Force planes. In one instance, a C-17 took off with Afghans clinging to the outside of the plane, and at least one person then fell to their death. On Aug. 23, there was a brief firefight outside the airport when an unidentified shooter opened fire, killing an Afghan soldier, before U.S. troops returned fire. There have also been numerous reports of the Taliban establishing checkpoints outside the airport, stopping Afghans attempting to flee the country and even beating them.

Editor’s Note: This story was last updated at 6 p.m. on Aug. 26 with new information from the White House.