How the U.S. Helped Win a Battle Against ISIS in Libya

(USA Today) Jim Michaels - A handful of U.S. drones and a small force of offshore Marine aircraft played a decisive role in defeating Islamic State fighters in Libya last December. The four-month air campaign to drive militants from Sirte without committing large numbers of U.S. ground forces is being studied as a model for future U.S. military efforts against the Islamic State. The U.S. Air Force relied exclusively on three MQ-9 Reapers flown from bases in the U.S. Marines operated from amphibious ships and a small number of Special Forces were dispatched to work with local ground forces. The Reapers produced round-the-clock images of the city, fired precise Hellfire missiles, and reacted quickly to threats, such as taking out an individual sniper in a building.


2017-04-19 00:00:00

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