US military aircraft crashes in west Iraq
A US military aircraft has crashed in western Iraq with American personnel aboard, the international coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) jihadist group said on 15 March.
The US-led coalition said in a statement: ‘Rescue teams are responding to the scene of the downed aircraft at this time.’
It did not specify the type of aircraft, whether or not there were casualties, or what caused the crash.
The US has operated both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft in Iraq during the war against ISIS, which overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014.
US forces began carrying out air strikes against ISIS in August 2014, a campaign that was later expanded to Syria, and has provided weapons, training and other support to forces fighting the jihadists in both countries.
Baghdad declared victory over the extremists in late 2017, but ISIS still has the ability to carry out deadly violence in Iraq, including a series of attacks in the country's north that left 25 dead earlier in March 2018.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending]()
Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending
Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.
-
![Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave]()
Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave
Vehicle and technology companies are reporting substantial growth compared to the first half of 2024. Italy’s Fincantieri saw revenues jump 24% for the first half of the year compared to 2024 and Thales up 6.8% for the same period. General Dynamics reported second quarter revenue growth of 8.9% for the second quarter compared to last year and MilDef reported organic order intake growth of 58%.
-
![Singapore plots a way forward with new technology and formation reform]()
Singapore plots a way forward with new technology and formation reform
Singapore spends about 3.5% of GDP on defence and the section’s budget sits on high on the proportion of national spending. The country is investing in uncrewed technology, medium- and long-range fires and new submarines and ships with the hunt also on for new maritime patrol aircraft.
-
![World Defense Show promises bigger and better event for 2026]()
World Defense Show promises bigger and better event for 2026
At this year's IDEF in Istanbul, Shephard spoke to World Defense Show (WDS) CEO Andrew Pearcey about his event's strategic role in Saudi Arabia, its themes and new features for 2026 and how it has grown since its launch in 2022.
