US Central Command dubbed the aerial offensive against ISIS “Operation Inherent Resolve,” applying the name retroactively to all operations in Iraq and Syria since Aug. 8, officials announced. The name signifies that “we are going to stay resolved and determined to get after this threat,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby explained in an Oct. 15 press briefing. “We’re going to do it in partnership, and I think that’s where the ‘inherent’ comes in the name,” Kirby added, noting that a total of 60 countries are now “involved in this effort in various forms.” CENTCOM stressed that Inherent Resolve will continue to be a broad coalition effort, but “diplomatic, informational, military, [and] economic” means also will be required to “degrade and ultimately destroy” ISIS, according to the release.
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.