Three C-130s of Iraq’s 23rd Air Transport Squadron flew two battalions of Iraqi security troops from Irbil to Tall Afar in Iraq over a two-day period last week, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, with the Multinational Force Iraq, told reporters Thursday. The flights marked the first use of the new Iraqi air force to directly support the deployment of Iraqi combat forces inside of Iraq. Iraq’s new air arm begins life with a great advantage over its predecessor—the US Air Force is now a friend, rather than an adversary.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
