Five French Rafale fighters launched the country’s first offensive strikes against ISIS targets in Syria, completely destroying a terrorist training camp in the Euphrates river valley on Sept. 27, defense officials announced. French aircraft have flown a total of 12 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance sorties over Syria since Sept. 8, gathering target information to begin offensive operations, according to the Armée de l’Air. The fighters, supported by a KC-135FR tanker and Atlantique 2 ISR aircraft, departed bases in Jordan and the Persian Gulf for the five-hour mission against targets in southeastern Syria, Sept. 27. A total of 12 French fighter aircraft supported by AWACS, tanker, and maritime patrol aircraft have supported anti-ISIS operation in Iraq—dubbed Operation Chammal by the French—since last September. Naval aircraft operating from the carrier Charles de Gaulle are also contributing to strike sorties from the Persian Gulf.
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…
