A B-52 bomber on rotation to Andersen AFB, Guam, will head to RAAF Darwin in Northwestern Australia this week to “take part in short-term training” with the Royal Australian Air Force, states a Pacific Air Forces release. The bomber also will carry Air Force personnel to aid planning for Australia’s Pitch Black large-force employment exercise later this year. An Air Force Global Strike Command B-52 flew to Australia for cooperative training earlier this year and “decisions on future rotations remain under discussion,” states the PACAF release. Pitch Black is the RAAF’s largest international exercise and will include the Dutch, Emirati, French, Korean, Thai, Singaporean, and New Zealand participants this year, reported the UAE’s The National. The three-week exercise will be held at Darwin in August.
The U.S. military carried out air strikes against Islamic State training camps in Syria on Oct. 11, U.S. Central Command announced. The airstrikes came amid concerns that the militant group is trying to rebuild its capabilities following its defeat in 2019 by the U.S. and its regional allies, the Syrian Democratic…