US air force running out of bombs to fight ISIS

Middle East, News, US December 6, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Air Force says it is dropping bombs ‘faster than we can replenish them’ in ISIS fight

WASHINGTON, (US) — As the world ramps up its campaign against the ISIS militant group in Iraq and Syria, US Air Force is now depleting its munitions stockpiles and confirms that additional money and other support is “critical” for “the long fight.”

“We’re expending munitions faster than we can replenish them,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh said. “We need the funding in place to ensure we’re prepared for the long fight. This is a critical need.”

The U.S. Air Force has reportedly fired some 20,000 bombs and missiles during it’s 15-month bombing campaign in Syria against ISIS to dismantle the self-proclaimed the Islamic State (or ISIS).

“B-1s have dropped bombs in record numbers. F-15Es are in the fight because they are able to employ a wide range of weapons and do so with great flexibility. We need the funding in place to ensure we’re prepared for the long fight,” Welsh said in the statement. “This is a critical need.”

American military aircraft have carried out more than three-quarters of the 8,556 airstrikes conducted against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

US Congress has approved an Air Force request for $400 million in additional funding for year 2015 to replenish stockpiles of Hellfire missiles and precision bombs that are being used against ISIS, according to Major Melissa Milner, an Air Force spokesperson.

Air Force officials said the current use rate will not significantly impact its current global stockpiles of precision-guided bombs and Hellfire missiles. The Air Force’s global stockpile of air dropped munitions includes gravity, and small- and large-diameter munitions, officials said.

“The Department of Defense maintains ample stocks of munitions for use both in training and in war,” said Mark Wright, a Pentagon spokesman. “As those munitions are consumed, we use various methods to replenish our operational stocks. This will not interfere with ongoing combat operations against ISIL.”

The latest US Air Force statistics show that through the end of 22 November, 286 munitions had been used against ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria. In November alone, 65 percent of all coalition airstrike missions in Iraq and Syria had one or more aircraft drop munitions, a number that has increased steadily since this summer when 50 percent of aircraft were returning with all their bombs still aboard.