A few weeks ago, some news media reports proclaimed that the Department of Homeland Security would be given the authority to order shoot downs of aircraft intended as terrorist weapons. McHale put that notion to rest Tuesday, saying, basically, “it ain’t so.” He did say, though, that DOD and DHS had still to work out the finer details.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.