The US-led coalition has delivered a “small” number of armored vehicles to fighters with the Syrian Arab Coalition in recent days—a move the coalition says is a large increase in US support. Coalition spokesman Air Force Col. John Dorrian said the US recently “divested” the Guardian armored vehicles, a heavily modified Ford F-550, to the Syrian Arab Coalition to support their advance on the ISIS-held city of Raqqa. The Syrian Arab Coalition is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, which the US has backed as they advance in Syria. An SDF spokesman told Reuters that the delivery is a sign of “full support” from the US, more than before. The vehicles will help the coalition face small arms and improvised explosive device threats from ISIS, Dorrian said.
The six-week government shutdown did not affect the hours flown by Air Force pilots, a service spokesperson told Air & Space Forces Magazine—avoiding what could have been a major blow at a time when flying hours are already lower than they have been in decades.
