USAF bolsters soft power projection with an unambiguous show of military might—the BUFF.
Africa
As U.S. Africa Command has ramped up its airstrikes targeting extremist groups throughout the continent, the command announced it will begin providing quarterly public reports of its investigations into civilian casualties. The step, slated to begin next month, is similar to U.S. Central Command's policy ...
A March 10 U.S. airstrike killed five al-Shabab targets in Somalia without harming any civilians, U.S. Africa Command reported later the same day. The attack—the fifth U.S. strike in Somalia this month—brings the number of al-Shabab militants killed by American airstrikes in March into the ...
The Air Force’s plan to cut MQ-9 Reaper production and some air patrols in the fiscal 2021 budget request would negatively impact the ability to conduct operations and provide enough over watch in hotspots in the Middle East and Africa, the top officials responsible for ...
The Air Force recently sent an unexpected aircraft over the village of Kismayo, a rural town on the Somali coast that has been a hotbed of extremist activity by groups such as al-Shabab. A nuclear-capable B-52, forward deployed to U.S. Central Command, flew an unmistakable ...
A Feb. 22 precision airstrike in Somalia killed a senior Al-Shabab member who planned the Jan. 5 attack on a U.S. base in Kenya that killed three Americans and destroyed six aircraft. "This strike demonstrates that we will continue to relentlessly pursue those responsible for ...
U.S. and Kenyan forces were unprepared at the Manda Bay airstrip and Camp Simba when al-Shabab attacked on Jan. 5, leading to the deaths of three Americans and the destruction of six aircraft, the head of U.S. Africa Command said Jan. 30. Al-Shabab was able ...
The head of France’s military used her visit to Washington to press the Pentagon to maintain its operations in the Sahel region. “The US support is critical to our operation,” French Minister of Armed Forces Florence Parly said during a Jan. 27 press briefing alongside ...
The Pentagon’s review of its force structure in Africa, and the likely reduction of deployed personnel, is already meeting harsh pushback on Capitol Hill, even before the review is completed. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a “zero-based” review of US forces deployed globally, with ...
NATO on Jan. 17 received the first two of five Air Ground Surveillance system drones at NAS Sigonella, Italy. The AGS system, a variant of the RQ-4 Global Hawk already in use by multiple nations, will be used by NATO to watch over Europe, and ...
The Jan. 5 attack on a US-operation airstrip in Kenya killed US Army Spc. Henry Mayfield Jr., along with two American contractors who have yet to be identified. Two more American service members were injured in the attack. Al-Shabab also reportedly spread rumors online that ...
Across Africa, US troops must rely on a patchwork of solutions for emergency rescue and evacuation.
