The F-15Cs deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey, will be performing combat air patrols and “defensive counterair” missions, but are also there to help keep Russian and coalition aircraft from dangerous encounters, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle said Tuesday. Speaking with defense reporters in Washington, D.C., Carlisle was asked about the mission of the F-15Cs, which have no ground attack capability. “There’s a lot of airplanes flying around” in the airspace over and around Syria, he said, and the Eagle’s mission is “probably less about air combat and probably more about keeping people safely apart that need to be safely apart. The F-15 … has a fantastic radar and…ability to monitor the air.” The F-15Cs’ missions are about “keeping SA [situational Awareness] about what’s going on in that airspace,” he added. Carlisle also said the Combined Force Air Component Commander, Lt. Gen. Charles Brown, and his Russian counterpart in Syria “talk twice a day” on the new hotline that’s been set up, and “everybody’s interested in safety of flight and … not getting into dangerous situations or miscalculations.” Russia can see the air picture through Syrian ground radar, and the coalition has AWACS, he noted. Carlisle insisted the coalition has not changed the way it operates since Russia began flying missions in the region.
US Space Command Should Always Be Led by a Guardian
Sept. 12, 2026
General Stephen Whiting took command of U.S. Space Command in January 2024, and if customary three-year tenures hold, his tour would end in January 2027. The question now before the President and Senate is who should follow him? Whoever they choose, it has to be a Guardian—and so should every successor…
