The US has decided to pull out B-1 bombers, one of the most dependable American weapons, from the battle against ISIS in Syria and Iraq for upgrades.
The US has decided to pull out B-1 bombers, one of the most dependable American weapons, from the battle against ISIS in Syria and Iraq for upgrades.
Commander of US Air Forces Central Command Lt. Gen. Charles Brown Jr. said the fleet of B-1 Lancer bombers had been sent back to the United States from their deployment in the Mideast.
The four-engine bombers are due for upgrades to their cockpits, a process that will keep the jets stateside for an undetermined amount of time, Mr Brown told reporters at the Pentagon via a video link from Al Udeid airbase in Qatar.
The B-1s have drawn praise for the amount of weapons they can carry, their accuracy in using those weapons and their reliability during the campaign against ISIS.
Mr Brown was quoted by CNN as saying that other US and coalition aircraft would pick up the B-1s’ missions during the upgrades. “We actually have plenty of capacity with other platforms. We lose maybe a little flexibility. The B-1 is a workhorse. The fact that it can carry as many weapons as it can and stay airborne as long as it can, it does provide a great capability,” he said.
Meanwhile, talking to French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, EU’s top diplomat Frederica Mogherini said Europe will only intervene in war-torn Libya against ISIS ihadists if it receives an official request from a legitimate government. “Defeating Daesh effectively can only happen through a legitimate Libyan government in charge of its own security,” the EU’s top diplomat Frederica Mogherini told Journal du Dimanche.
