Airmen and F-15E Strike Eagles of the 494th Fighter Squadron and Aircraft Maintenance Unit at RAF Lakenheath, England, returned home from a deployment to the US Central Command area of operations earlier this month. While deployed, the Panthers flew a total of 1,651 sorties and dropped more than 1,700 bombs targeting ISIS as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, according to a base release. The Strike Eagles returned home Oct. 9, with airmen following Oct. 14. In addition to the fighter squadron and airmen, pilots, special mission aviators, pararescumen, and combat rescue officers from the 56th and 57th Rescue Squadrons, along with maintainers from the 48th Maintenance Group at Lakenheath, also returned from a deployment in late September.
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…