While the US welcomes Turkey’s decision to open its airfields to coalition aircraft for combat operations against ISIS, Turkey needs to do more in the fight against the terrorist group, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an Aug. 19 Pentagon briefing. The country’s involvement in Operation Inherent Resolve was overdue when it began flying airstrikes in July, and now Turkey needs to work more on securing its border with Syria, he said. ISIS recruits use the porous border to join the group in Syria, and Turkey needs to step up to block these routes, said Carter. Turkey, just last month, agreed to let the US Air Force begin flying combat flights from Incirlik Air Base, and the Pentagon has said its agreement with the country leaves open the possibility that additional bases could be used for airstrike sorties and other missions, such as search and rescue.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
