US Air Force ‘stretched’ by Islamic State fight in Iraq, Syria

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said the service suffers from a lack of planes and pilots as well as ongoing budgetary uncertainty as it flies an increased number of missions against the Islamic State.
A F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 211 (VFA-211) lands on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) aircraft carrier in the Gulf June 18, 2015. The U.S. carrier is deployed in the region to act as a platform to strike key positions taken over by the Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria, according to the ship's press officer. Picture taken June 18, 2015. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - GF10000133332
An F/A-18E/F Super Hornets of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron 211 lands on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the Gulf, June 18, 2015. - REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
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Jack Detsch
@JackDetsch_ALM

The US military is being stretched thin by the American-led air war against the Islamic State (IS), US Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said Thursday.

The US-led coalition fighting IS in Iraq and Syria dropped more than 5,000 bombs on the militant group in August, setting a record for the three-year campaign. But the Air Force has just 55 active fighter squadrons, an almost 60% drop from the first Gulf War in 1991, as it faces arbitrary budget cuts and a shortage of planes and pilots.

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