US and allied fighters repelled a coordinated ISIS attack on a base in Syria, using coalition air support to fight back dozens of fighters. On April 8, ISIS fighters converged on the An Tank garrison, using a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, suicide vests, and small arms fire. Syrian Arab Coalition fighters, along with US advisers, fought back, US Central Command spokesman Army Col. John Thomas said Monday. Three allied fighters were killed in the operation. US aircraft provided close air support and medevac following the attack, Thomas said. US forces were assigned to the garrison to help Syrian Arab Coalition fighters clear ISIS from the Hamad Desert and “have been instrumental in countering the ISIS threat in southern Syria and maintaining security along the Syria-Jordan border,” Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement.
The Air Force’s nascent KC-Z program, aimed at developing a next-generation family of systems for aerial refueling, will look to launch its analysis-of-alternatives study in 2024, years earlier than originally planned. Originally, the analysis of alternatives for KC-Z was set for “maybe in the 2030s,” Paul Waugh, program executive officer…