US and Turkish officials are still finalizing plans for 12 F-15s to deploy to Incirlik AB, Turkey, in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, said Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. Jeff Davis on Monday. The Defense Department announced last week the jets, a mix of C and E models, would deploy to Incirlik to join 12 A-10s already at the base, but Davis said a solid timeline for the deployment has not been established. The F-15Cs, which specialize in air superiority, will support a program to protect Turkey’s airspace, which was established in 2012. Air Combat Command boss Gen. Hawk Carlisle visited Incirlik on Oct. 22 in advance of the announcement and spoke with both American and Turkish airmen.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III chaired a China-focused military briefing Oct. 27, part of a biweekly series of briefings with senior military commanders about China’s growing threat in the wake of an orbital hypersonic weapon test that elicited public worries from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. “What we…