Two F-15Es from the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing at Balad AB, Iraq, used their their electro-optical and infrared sensors to locate three individuals seen fleeing an area from which mortars were fired at Balad. It was a coordinated effort with airmen and soldiers manning Balad’s Joint Defense Operations Center, which calculated the point of origin and relayed the information to the aircraft. The Strike Eagles monitored the individuals until they stopped their vehicle at a house, when they relayed the location to the JDOC. Tests of the three suspects, apprehended by soldiers of the Army’s 101st Airborne Division, showed positive for explosive residue. Coalition officials called this extra “eye in the sky” capability from non-traditional intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance assets a “real force multiplier.”
Watch, Read: CSO Saltzman on ‘The State of the Space Force’
Sept. 30, 2023
Chief of Space Operations Gen. B. Chance Saltzman delivered a keynote address on “The State of the Space Force,” detailing the young service’s progress and upcoming initiatives at AFA’s Air, Space & Cyber Conference on Sept. 11, 2023. Watch the video or read the transcript.