There is a unit at Ali Base, Iraq, the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron Ammo Flight, that has six airmen who handle all the countermeasure requirements for C-130s of both the US and Iraqi Air Forces. They maintain a munitions stockpile of 661 items, valued at $1.8 million, and each type of ammo has a different service life—inspection and reclassification is a neverending cycle, reports the Ali Times. And, then there’s the everyday task of replenishing the chaff and flares used by the airlifters.
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.