The Defense Department’s Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance Integration Roadmap is missing some very important elements. Such was the testimony of Davi D’Ogistino, director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues for the Government Accountability Office, during an ISR hearing of the House Armed Services air and land forces panel last week. While the ISR Roadmap sets strategic goals, objectives, and catalogs developing systems, it does not indicate funding priorities, ways to measure progress towards the strategic goals, identify future requirements, or define requirements for global persistent surveillance. As for DOD managing its current ISR assets, “Our ongoing work indicates DOD lacks adequate visibility to optimize the use of those assets and metrics to evaluate their performance,” she said.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.