The US-led coalition against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria carried out 2,829 July airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, the most of any month since Operation Inherent Resolve kicked off in August 2014, according to new figures from Air Forces Central Command. The coalition has launched a total of 19,760 airstrikes, the majority of which come from US Air Force aircraft. Coalition aircraft have flown 4,959 total intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties, along with 5,620 airlift flights. Tanker aircraft have offloaded 557 millions of pounds of fuel through 61,303 air-to-air refuelings in 8,904 sorties. Meanwhile, the operations tempo in Afghanistan remained relatively slow in July, with just 75 total weapons released, down from 106 the month before. It is standard to see increases in the warmer months’ fighting season, Army Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, the deputy chief of staff for communication for the Resolute Support Mission, said at a Pentagon briefing Aug. 13. The coalition has also seen an increase in the ISIS presence in Afghanist?an, a threat that could be addressed in airstrikes in the future, he said.
A Golden Dome task force established under U.S. Northern Command earlier this year has a broad remit, which includes fielding the capability to defend the U.S. against missile and drone attacks, its leaders said this week. Some of the primary focuses right now are ensuring Golden Dome can defend itself…