US Africa Command on Monday ended its support for the Libyan Government of National Accord after conducting 495 airstrikes in an effort to drive ISIS from the city of Sirte. Operation Odyssey Lightning began on Aug. 1 as ISIS took over the seaside city. US aircraft, mainly US Marine Corps jets on the USS Wasp and remotely piloted aircraft, flew regular airstrikes as Libyan troops moved from neighborhood to neighborhood to clear the city. While the official operation has concluded, US Africa Command said in a statement it will still work with the Libyan government to counter the “evolving threat” of ISIS in the country. AFRICOM’s announcement came one day after the Libyan government officially said ISIS was expelled from Sirte, though officials warned the fighting was not completely over in the country.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…