US-led coalition aircraft continued to target oil infrastructure held by ISIS, with weekend airstrikes destroying 83 oil tankers in Syria. The coalition has continually hit the oil infrastructure in an attempt to disrupt the money-making system in Syria that ISIS uses to fund its operation. The operation, called Tidal Wave II, has halved the group’s total revenue, US officials have said. In addition to the airstrikes on the tankers near Abu Kamal, coalition aircraft hit ISIS tactical units, fighting positions near Manbij and Mar’a, US Central Command announced. Aircraft in Iraq targeted ISIS headquarters buildings in Mosul and Sultan Abdallah, among several other targets. (See also: Obliterating Oil Operations, Coalition Targeting ISIS’s Oil)
The Air Force is seeking to buy around 108 new aircraft in fiscal 2027—though really, officials wish they could get more. The issue isn’t just more money, according to the service’s No. 2 officer; contractors just aren't able to produce enough aircraft at the present moment, Gen. John Lamontagne said…