Twelve U.S. Air Force F-35s have arrived in the Middle East to beef up U.S. Central Command’s airpower in the region and deter Iran from seizing oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz, the service announced July 26. The deployment of the aircraft also comes ...
A Russian fighter damaged a U.S. drone over Syria earlier this week, the top Air Force commander for the region said July 25, in the latest escalation between American and Russian aircraft. The incident took place at approximately 7:23 am Syria time on July 23. ...
There was something different about one of the U.S. fighters that flew over the Strait of Hormuz this past week to deter Iran from seizing oil tankers. Three green stars are plainly visible on an F-16, tail 2137, in newly released Department of Defense photos ...
A Russian fighter harassed a U.S. manned surveillance aircraft over Syria on July 16, engaging in a maneuver that risked the lives of the four American crew members, U.S. officials said July 18. The move comes as escalating tensions with Iran and Russia have led ...
The last Air Force C-21A Learjet left Qatar on June 30, ending an era for a little-known aircraft that had an outsized impact overseas.
After three straight days of harassment by Russian fighters, U.S. MQ-9s conducted an airstrike that killed an ISIS leader in Syria on July 7, U.S. Central Command and Air Forces Central said. The strike was conducted by the same MQ-9s that were confronted by Russian ...
Russian fighters dropped flares in front of U.S. MQ-9s over Syria on two consecutive days in escalating tactics intended to disrupt U.S. operations in "a new level" of aggressive behavior by Russian forces, according to U.S. officials. "We urge Russian forces in Syria to cease ...
Russia’s war in Ukraine is having far-reaching consequences for American forces in the Middle East, the top Air Force commander for the region said June 21. The aggressive behavior by Russian planes in Syria toward American aircraft may be part of an effort by Moscow to ...
U.S. Central Command announced June 14 that Air Force F-22 stealth fighters have deployed to the Middle East, the latest action amid growing tensions between the U.S. and Russia in the skies over Syria—but also tied to Russia’s war in Ukraine. “The center of gravity ...
Russia has stepped up its harassment of U.S. forces in Syria, overflying American positions with armed fighters and closing within a few hundred feet of U.S. fighters, U.S. officials said. Perhaps most alarmingly, a Russian surface-to-air missile system fired at a U.S. drone back in ...
As the Air Force’s broader focus shifts to the Pacific and Europe, the U.S. military will rely on aging close air support aircraft to meet the needs of its forces in the Middle East. A-10 Thunderbolt IIs will deploy to the region in April, a ...
Under Col. Robert Smoker, Task Force 99’s new commander, the unit will continue to try to cut through red tape and field new systems quickly. “We're weird,“ he said. “Everybody has their job to do and they do it.”