F-15’s headed to Incirlik Air Base
Categories: News
F-15’s headed to Incirlik Air Base
A small number of F-15C and F-15E are soon to be flying the unfriendly skies in the fight against ISIS. While the details are still being worked out, it seems a little odd that the F-15C is in the mix as it is typically an air-to-air Aircraft. From the Air Force times:
In addition to feet on the ground, the Pentagon is aiming to “thicken” the air campaign against ISIL, which so far has cost an average of $11 million a day since its launch last August.
To that end, the Defense Department has dispatched 12 A-10s from the 75th Fighter Squadron out of Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, and also plans to send a number of F-15s, to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey to replace six F-16s from Aviano Air Base, Italy, that had been flying combat missions against the militants since August.
The A-10s have already deployed; the F-15 deployment is still being finalized, the official said, but will contain “about” a dozen fighters, with a mix of F-15C and F-15E designs.
Assistance also could come from a growing presence of allied nations that could operate out of Incirlik, strategically located near the border with Syria.
“We’re talking to a number of coalition allies, including Arab allies, about potentially locating some assets at Incirlik,” the official said. “At this point, I don’t want to get ahead of any of those nations in terms of announcing any commitments.”
The defense official also denied this was an attempt to create a no-fly zone in the region, a hot topic among members of Congress.
See the full article from The Air Force Times.
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