The Air Force and its Auxiliary, the Civil Air Patrol, flew some 345 sorties over the continental US during the month of May, according to figures released this week by the Air National Guard-led 1st Air Force/Air Forces Northern, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla. Air Guard and Air Force Reserve forces flew five times the number of sorties flown by their active duty counterparts. The sorties flown by CAP more than tripled from the previous month. Through May, the CONUS portion of Operation Noble Eagle has flown more than 49,000 sorties since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and is nearing a total of 185,000 flying hours.
The U.S. thwarted a drone attack on U.S. forces at Al Asad air base in western Iraq on April 22, marking the first time that American troops have been targeted since February, U.S. officials said. “We can confirm it was an attack on Al Asad,” a defense official told Air & Space…