US Africa Command has outlined a five-year plan with five lines of effort aimed at building peace and security on the continent, according to a Jan. 5 release. First, the command is focused on neutralizing the al-Shabab terror threat in Somalia. Although the group “has been pushed out of most of the major populations,” an AFRICOM official said it “is not a spent force.” As part of this effort, US forces have helped train and equip the African Union Mission in Somalia, which is helping to stabilize the country, states the release. Second, AFRICOM is focused on the “failed state of Libya.” AFRICOM boss Army Gen. David Rodriguez told reporters in November that ISIS has taken advantage of the “chaos” that followed the ouster of former Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, noting at least six groups in and around Libya have pledged support to ISIS. Third, the command is focused on containing Boko Haram in West Africa, which has surpassed ISIS as “the most deadly terrorist group in the world,” according to a recent report from the Institute for Economics and Peace. Fourth, AFRICOM “will focus on disrupting illicit activity in the Gulf of Guinea and in Central Africa,” states the release. Finally, it looks to build African partners’ peacekeeping and disaster assistance capabilities. (Rodriguez Defense Writers Group transcript from November 2015.)
Northrop Grumman has broken ground on a major new production facility for the B-21 Raider, the company and the Air Force announced Oct. 6. The construction comes as a top service official said testing on the bomber is going well in the lead up to its planned introduction into the…
