USAF’s budget seeks to swap capacity now for capability in the future, but TRANSCOM is leery.
Afghanistan
The U.S. will immediately cut assistance to the government of Afghanistan by $1 billion because of leadership failures at the top ranks in Kabul, with plans to cut another $1 billion next year, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced March 23. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani ...
Massive spending to combat the coronavirus pandemic may suppress defense spending and therefore defense stock prices, which have tanked to the tune of more than 30 percent in the last month, according to defense and aerospace analyst Byron Callan of Capital Alpha. Congress may also ...
U.S. Central Command has ordered a stop movement for all forces deploying to the Middle East to allow for a 14-day quarantine to counter the spread of the new coronavirus. Under the order, announced March 20, forces deploying to U.S. commands or coalitions in the ...
The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq has suspended its training mission as the new coronavirus outbreak spreads. The training mission in Afghanistan is continuing with changes to mitigate risks. However, the military has stopped deployments to Afghanistan, a move that will keep some service members in ...
U.S. airstrikes in Afghanistan continued at a steady rate in February, despite progress toward a peace deal with the Taliban, as counter-terror operations targeted the Islamic State group’s Khorasan offshoot and al-Qaeda. In February, U.S. manned and unmanned aircraft dropped 360 weapons—the lowest monthly total ...
The Taliban has continued attacks on Afghan forces in the wake of the negotiated agreement with the U.S., steps that are “not consistent” with a future settlement for peace, the head of American forces in the Middle East said March 10. For the peace deal ...
The United Kingdom needs to able to address threats without U.S. support, as the Pentagon continues its push toward the Indo-Pacific under the National Defense Strategy, the head of the U.K. military said March 5. U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, speaking alongside U.S. Defense Secretary ...
US aircraft targeted Taliban fighters who had attacked an Afghan military checkpoint on March 4, just days after a peace deal to end the war in Afghanistan was signed. The strike in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand province—the first against the Taliban in 11 days—came one day ...
An AC-130U Spooky crew provided more than nine hours of air support to special operations forces, enabling the rescue of 15 patients during a mass casualty evacuation in an April 2019 mission in Afghanistan. In a March 2 ceremony at Hurlburt Field, Fla., the aircrew ...
U.S. forces have the green light to begin withdrawing from Afghanistan under the recently signed deal with the Taliban, even though some pockets of violence have already returned. Defense Secretary Mark Esper urged Gen. Austin Miller, the commander of Operation Resolute Support, to “get moving ...
All foreign troops could be out of Afghanistan in 14 months, under an agreement signed in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 29, which Defense Secretary Mark Esper called “the best chance Afghanistan has had in 19 years to achieve peace.” The agreement between the Taliban and ...
