U.S. forces in Afghanistan have a new commander for the waning days of the war who the Pentagon says will retain the authority to conduct strikes in support of Afghan forces—something that has happened during the withdrawal, though the Defense Department will not provide specifics. ...
As the last Americans leave Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command will look to space to support its continued counterterrorism mission against al-Qaida and Islamic State group remnants, U.S. Space Command confirmed to Air Force Magazine. America’s eyes in the sky will form the only intelligence picture ...
The U.S. mission in Afghanistan will conclude Aug. 31 with almost all American personnel and equipment withdrawn from the country, said President Joe Biden on July 8. He also promised that Afghan interpreters will have a place in the United States after the U.S. leaves ...
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is almost complete after American forces abruptly left the largest operating base in the country July 1, a move the Pentagon said was needed because of operational security. As of July 5, 90 percent of the withdrawal had been completed, ...
Looters were left to enter and take what remained of Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan after U.S. forces withdrew July 1 without fanfare or an official announcement. As American forces vacated Bagram, so, too, did close air support to the Afghan forces fighting the Taliban. In ...
As the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan reaches its final stages, the Islamic State’s Khorasan branch in the country remains a “serious threat,” warned John T. Godfrey, the acting U.S. Special Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS. Speaking with reporters on a call ...
The Biden administration will evacuate thousands of Afghan interpreters as the U.S. military withdraws from the country, with planning speeding up this week as Afghan leaders visit the White House and the Pentagon. President Joe Biden, June 24 said “We’ve already begun the process. Those ...
The crew of an AC-130J on June 22 received Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medals for protecting helicopters evacuating wounded American and Afghan forces during a September 2019 fight in Afghanistan. The Ghostrider, callsign Shadow 71, provided about two hours of constant close air support ...
The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan continues on pace, and though Taliban violence has increased—with the group taking more districts from the Kabul-based government—there are no plans to slow the drawdown yet. U.S. Central Command said June 22 that more than 50 percent of the withdrawal ...
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on June 10 would not say whether the U.S. military will still conduct airstrikes in Afghanistan to defend population centers after the retrograde completes this summer, but the Pentagon is pursuing ways to base surveillance and strike aircraft closer ...
U.S. forces are about half way done with the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO pledge to continue support in new ways. U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said June 7 that with so much progress already, “we will ...
The Air Force recently awarded Bombardier a $465 million contract for up to six more E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node aircraft. The E-11A, a heavily modified Bombardier Global 6000 business jet, acts as a “Wi-Fi in the sky." It is used heavily in Afghanistan, connecting ...