US Africa Command on Thursday began detailing its new campaign of airstrikes at the request of the Libyan government of national accord, outlining exactly what the US aircraft had in its sights near the city of Sirte. Air strikes on Aug. 1, the first day of Operation Odyssey Lightning, US aircraft hit one T-72 tank, two military support vehicles, an enemy fighting position, one T-55 tank, and two pieces of heavy engineering equipment. Aircraft on Aug. 2 hit one rocket launcher, one piece of heavy engineering equipment, and one pickup truck with a mounted recoilless rifle. On Aug. 3, an airstrike hit one pickup truck with a mounted recoilless rifle. The strikes were outlined in a news release from AFRICOM, which closely resembles how US Central Command has announced its airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. AFRICOM also released a video of the airstrike on the T-72 tank, showing a precision strike destroying the vehicle with buildings nearby.
The combination of an “unacceptable” eight-year delay, potentially billions of dollars in costs create a new logistics enterprise, and the need to prioritize a more advanced capability persuaded the Air Force to buy an additional 75 Boeing KC-46s, according to a new document.
