The US will accelerate its air operations in Syria against Islamic State militants by deploying the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II to Incirlik AFB in Turkey.
Russia has increased its military presence in Syria, and satellite images – including those from an Israeli satellite – show that it has based a number of squadrons of fighters and attack helicopters in the Middle East.
Russian air strikes have led Washington to change its strategy in Syria, resulting in the deployment of the A-10s – an aircraft that is well-equipped to carry out missions against IS.
Twelve A-10s that are usually based at Moody AFB in Georgia have reportedly been sent to Turkey. They will replace six USAF Lockheed Martin F-16s that were deployed from Aviano AFB in Italy in August.
The A-10 was first deployed in the anti-IS fight in 2014.
Israeli sources said on 22 October that the US had found itself "out of the picture" in Syria, and the deployment of the A-10 is part of a reassessment of its operations.
US Air Force
According to US sources, Jordan has also recently expressed concerns about possible penetration of IS units into its territory, and is in talks with the US and Israel regarding the collection of real-time intelligence.
Sources said that this intelligence may be gathered via satellite imagery and manned and unmanned surveillance flights.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
