Tag Archives: syria

Defense Secretary and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper said the U.S. government is “preparing to evacuate” approximately 1K U.S. service personnel from northern Syria amid Turkey’s impending offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces, CBS News reported Sunday. SDF served as the U.S. allies as part of the campaign against the Islamic State militant organization.

The U.S. Marine Corps wants to make the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems permanent in its inventory through President Trump’s fiscal year 2020 budget proposal, National Defense Magazine reported Friday. The service requested $117 million in funding to buy three Reapers in the coming year and additional three for fiscal year 2021.

The U.S. government developed a variant of the Hellfire air-to-surface missile designed to target terrorists without explosion and reduce the risk of civilian casualties, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The modified Hellfire missile, also known as R9X, comes with a ring of six blades that can cut through vehicle roofs or buildings to home in on the target. U.S. officials said the Department of Defense used R9X six times in its operations in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Somalia. 

The White House considers Jim Webb, a former senator from Virginia, to serve as the next secretary of the Department of Defense, The New York Times reported Thursday. Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan assumed the role of acting DoD secretary on Tuesday after James Mattis resigned from his post.

Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Amikam Norkin said at a recent conference that the IAF had conducted two air strikes in the Middle East using the country’s variant of the F-35 fighter jet, dubbed “Adir” or “Mighty One.” The missions mark the first time Lockheed Martin‘s stealth aircraft has …

President Donald Trump looks to deploy U.S. troops to help the country’s border with Mexico, DoD News reported Tuesday. “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” he said Tuesday at a meeting with the presidents of the three …

The U.S. military continues to train local security forces in Syria as part of efforts to stop activities of the Islamic State militant organization, facilitate stabilization and meet campaign objectives in the region. Syrian security forces are tasked to prevent members of the militant group from escaping the country, integrate …

The U.S.-led Global Coalition against the Islamic State militant group has liberated 98 percent of the territories claimed by ISIS in 2017. The Defense Department‘s Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve said in a year-end review posted Monday that the coalition’s 70 member nations and four member organizations helped …

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said the Defense Department will modify how it conducts operations to defeat the Islamic State militant group in 2018, DoD News reported Friday. Mattis told reporters Friday that coalition forces will work to hunt down the remaining members of the militant group and work with …

Defense Secretary James Mattis has said Iran has been involved in several destabilization activities in the Middle East that include the country’s ballistic missile support to the Houthis against Saudi Arabia, DoD News reported Saturday. Mattis told reporters Friday about Iran’s support to the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad and …