US airmen with the 506th Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron at Kirkuk AB, Iraq, have succeeded in getting Erbil Airport operating regularly schedule commercial flights to and from Vienna, Austria—the first of any scheduled passenger flights since 2003. Air Force journalist TSgt. Russ Wood reports that the 506th airmen worked with coalition officials to develop new procedures for the commercial flights, building on those in place for chartered services.
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.