Asked about the source of the increased activity and lethality of enemy forces in Afghanistan during a Sept. 23 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright attributed it partly to advisers from outside Afghanistan “that are there and are managing the relationship between the two groups [forces from Pakistan and within Afghanistan], setting them up for complex attacks.” He went on to say that these advisers have learned to strike quickly to avoid coalition and NATO aircraft. Cartwright explained, “They are smart enough to know that they can engage us for about 20 or 30 minutes and then they must break contact because our air will get there.”
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.