The U.S. combat mission in Iraq will end by the end of the year, though U.S. forces will continue to help Iraqi forces in the fight against the Islamic State group, President Joe Biden announced July 26. Biden, appearing alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ...
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 ...
U.S. Air Force F-15E and F-16 aircraft on June 27 struck three facilities on the Syria-Iraq border, where the Pentagon said Iranian-backed militias were building and storing the small drone weapons used to attack U.S. and partner bases in recent months. The strikes hit buildings ...
Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft are among the Air Force's most-requested assets worldwide, but the service wants to cut back the number of combat air patrols it supports with ISR on any given day so it can free up funds in the fiscal 2022 budget ...
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 ...
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to draw down the number of fighter squadrons in the Middle East while also withdrawing missile defense systems as part of a broad shift in the U.S. military’s force posture in the region. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III informed ...
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 ...
U.S. forces will reportedly hand over control of Bagram Airfield, the major headquarters of American air operations in Afghanistan, to Afghan forces within about three weeks. Agence-France Presse reported June 1 that the U.S. military will hand the base over to the Afghan government in ...
Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar, recently adopted a new counter-drone system that lets its operators identify incoming threats and sever the connection between drone and operator. “The goal of the program is to build counter measures for Al-Udeid AB that would pose as a last line ...
The military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan is speeding up, with five facilities now handed over to the Afghan government and about 115 C-17 loads of material flown out of the country. U.S. Central Command reported May 18 that more than 5,000 pieces of material also have ...
U.S. C-17s have now flown 104 loads of materiel out of Afghanistan as the retrograde continues, and U.S. Central Command plans to destroy more than 1,800 pieces of equipment. Between six and 12 percent of the entire retrograde process is complete, CENTCOM said in a ...