USAF flies its first combat sortie with the new twin-engine turboprop MC-12W intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance aircraft during a mission out of Joint Base Balad, Iraq. The first of the so-called Liberty Project Aircraft arrived in Iraq on June 8, 2009, following an accelerated acquisition effort. USAF plans to deploy six MC-12s to Iraq.
The U.S. began extensive air and artillery strikes against Islamic State group targets in Syria on Dec. 19 in retaliation for the killing of three Americans on Dec. 13 by a gunman affiliated with ISIS, U.S. officials said.
