Belgium this week deployed six F-16s to join the fight against ISIS. The aircraft deployed from the Kleine Brogel airbase to Jordan for sorties in Iraq and Syria, the Belgian news agency VRT reported. “It is important that we remain active in the fight against IS,” Belgian Defence Minister Steven Vandeput told the agency. “We have seen in our own country what this means for our security. We need to beat the terrorists over there to be safer here.” The F-16s mission will last a year, VRT reported. USAF Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, commander of Air Forces Central Command, said last monthhe had seen a drop in the number of aircraft deployed, but that more aircraft were expected to come soon. The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group deployed earlier this month and began conducting strikes on Tuesday, according to a Navy release. (See also: AFCENT’s Rapid Evolution from the April 2016 issue of Air Force Magazine.)
U.S. aircraft, drones, and attack helicopters have launched significant airstrikes in recent days against Islamic State militants in Syria as part of the renewed air campaign against remnants of the group, U.S. officials said.
