Outgoing commander of U.S. Africa Command Gen. Stephen J. Townsend said Moscow has used its mercenary Wagner Group to install air defenses in Mali, a troubled West African country that has seen a marked increase in terrorist activity under a new military government. Ruled by ...
Nominees to lead U.S. Africa Command and U.S. Special Operations Command who testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 21 described the Air Force assets they would need to better fight terrorism and counter influence by China and Russia. Army Lt. Gen. Bryan ...
Service members working to fight terrorist groups expanding in Africa have their hands tied by restrictions on security cooperation with military-led countries, giving China and Russia an edge, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Africa Chidi Blyden told senators. The restive Sahel region of Africa ...
Somalia Air Force Brig. Gen. Sh Ali Mohamed Mohamud last sat in the cockpit of a Somali MiG fighter jet in March 1978. His country’s civil war decimated the Air Force he joined at age 14 and has been part of for over 50 years. ...
A military coup in the fragile West African country of Burkina Faso may prevent the U.S. Air Force from continuing vital counterterrorism surveillance and targeting efforts in an area where Islamic terrorism is growing, the Burkina Faso vice air chief told Air Force Magazine Jan. ...
U.S. forces July 20 conducted an airstrike targeting al-Shabab fighters in Somalia, the first such strike under President Joe Biden. The strike, which comes after most American troops have left the country, supported partner Somali forces under attack in the vicinity of Galkayo. “There were ...
The Defense Department is considering sending U.S. troops back to Somalia just about six months after pulling them all out of the country as part of a broader look at the military's force posture. In December, then-President Donald J. Trump ordered troops to leave Somalia ...
B-52s from Barksdale Air Force, La., on June 18 finished the latest bomber task force deployment to Europe in a dramatic fashion, flying two separate long-distance training missions in the Arctic and in Africa. On June 17, B-52s that were part of the task force ...
An MQ-9 suffered a catastrophic fuel leak while flying in an undisclosed area of Africa, prompting the crew to crash as hard as possible into the ground to avoid a successful recovery of the aircraft, according to an Air Force investigation released June 4. The ...
Since U.S. forces withdrew from Somalia earlier this year, they have been “commuting to work” via aircraft to help train Somali troops, but without a ground presence there is limited intelligence understanding, the head of U.S. Africa Command told lawmakers. In December 2020, former President ...
The proliferation of small unmanned aerial systems, usually commercially available drones that can be outfitted to drop weapons, is the most “persistent and dangerous” threat to troops in the Middle East in decades. “These small- and medium-sized UAS proliferating across the [area of operations] present ...
Acting Air Force Secretary John P. Roth announced a host of new general officer assignments on Aug. 6, including new commanders for Second and Eighth Air Forces.