A U.S.-led coalition aircraft flying over Kobanii, as seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 15, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Defense Tech: US Air Force Targets and Destroys ISIS HQ Building Using Social Media
Much has been made about the ability of ISIS to master social media to recruit and broadcast their victories. But the U.S. Air Force is turning the militant group’s eagerness to share on social media into that intelligence that produces targets.
Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle, head of Air Combat Command, described Monday how airmen at Hurlburt Field, Florida, with the 361st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, recognized a comment on social media and turned that into an airstrike that resulted in three Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) missiles destroying am Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) headquarters building.
“It was a post on social media to bombs on target in less than 24 hours,” Carlisle said. “Incredible work when you think about.”
Carlisle was careful not to share all of the Air Force’s secrets to include the location of the building but this is how he told the story at the recent breakfast meeting in Washington D.C. hosted by the Air Force Association.
Update #1: Terrorist ‘moron’ reveals ISIS HQ in online selfie, U.S. Air Force promptly destroys compound -- Washington Times
Update #2: The USAF found and flattened an ISIL base because of selfies -- Endgadget
Previous Post: A Look At How The Islamic State Has Mastered Social Media To Advance Its Agenda
WNU Editor: Air Force Gen. Hawk Carlisle (head of Air Combat Command) should never have made this information public. I understand that he was bragging .... but how intel is gained in order to determine how targets are determined should always be classified "top secret". Then again .... this could be a cover story on how they "really" determined this was a target.
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