Diverting Army Hellfires to USAF

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Although forward units have been resupplied from weapons depots and “new production,” an Air Force spokeswoman said on Monday on?going operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria have left inventories “below our desired objective.” The Air Force has worked with the Army to “re-prioritize” deliveries of Hellfire missiles—used by MQ-9 Reaper drones and Army attack helicopters—and is “working a procurement plan to increase production to reconstitute munitions stocks as quickly as possible,” she said. USAF has released more than 20,000 weapons against ISIS in 15 months. US Central Command spokesman Col. Steve Warren in mid-December downplayed the shortage, saying “we have no concern whatsoever about the stockpile of munitions. We have enough munitions to conduct all the operation[s] we need to conduct, as well as maintain a contingency…” (Warren transcript.)

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org