“We have sufficient evidence to conclude that this capability [tanks], despite its long and honorable history in the wars of the past, is operationally unsuitable for our highest-priority challenges in the future,” the report said about the divestment of Marine tanks.
“The use of air power and precision technology, including precision-guided artillery, has become a dominant feature of an otherwise low-intensity conflict."
The remotely piloted aircraft may have been brought down by Russian mercenaries or troops with Khalifa Hifter’s Libyan National Army operating a Russian air defense system.
Officials in Libya’s U.N.-supported government say they plan to confront Moscow over the alleged deployment of Russian mercenaries fighting alongside their opponents in the country’s civil war.
The U.S. military said Friday it lost an unmanned drone aircraft over the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where rival armed groups have been fighting for control of the city for months.
The strikes killed an estimated 43 ISIS fighters, with roughly 100 still remaining, according to a senior U.S. defense official, who spoke with reporters on the condition of anonymity.
The U.S. military says it has carried out an airstrike against the Islamic State group in Libya, the latest in a series of airstrikes by the U.S. in the North African country over the past 10 days.
The strike, which targeted ISIS-Libya terrorist in southwest Libya, follows concern from AFRICOM about violent extremists taking advantage of Libya’s political instability, and using the situation as an opportunity for growth.