USAF deploys the RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle to participate in Southwest Asia operations. By Feb. 10, 2010, the UAV had flown 1,500 combat sorties.
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.