US Army, NATO. M777 howitzers during airborne operations in Germany.

Lockheed Martin makes the C-130J Super Hercules,the US Army's most commonly used variant of the aircraft.*Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Operation Inherent Resolve:US Marine Corps Artillery Moves into Syria-hefty reinforcements may be staged in Kuwait

About 400 US Marines of the 111th Marine Expeditionary Unit and US Army Rangers of the 75th Ranger Regiment have arrived in Syria,augmenting the 500 US troops already there on a train,advise and assist mission for the Syrian Democratic Forces,a conglomeration of militias led by the YPG Kurds.The Marines are there in a combat role with their light but powerful M777 155 mm Howitzers.This artillery has been assisting the SDF soften up Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant positions in and around Raqqa,the ISIL capital,since at least 9 March 2017.The Rangers have been patrolling around the newly liberated town of Manbij in Northern Syria in their armoured personnel carriers to stabilise the security situation and reassure skittish allies such as Turkey.
Besides the Marines and Rangers,US Army HiMARS rocket artillery is reportedly also in or headed for Syria to participate in the liberation of Raqqa,thus mirroring US on the ground activity in neighbouring Iraq.The extra firepower is part of the Trump administration's plan to accelerate the lasting military defeat of ISIL.Although the deployments are considered temporary,no end date has been set.
Additionally,the Pentagon is contemplating sending at least 1,000 more troops to Kuwait as potential reinforcements for the approximately 1,000 US forces already in Syria.Indeed,the number in Kuwait could go as high as 12,000 US troops being held in reserve for support of the momentous Battle of Raqqa,which could be intitiated within a few weeks' time.*
The M777 is a towed cannon with a range of 32 kilometers/20 miles.It has been used in the Afghan War as well.The HiMARS is already being used against ISIL in Iraq.According to US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force OIR:
We are going to prepare to liberate the city of Raqqa.This is an important task that has to be accomplished,because liberating that city is going to damage the enemy's prospects.It has a tremendous amount of symbolic importance.It's also a major command and control node for their external operations.
We have what I would describe as a pretty relentless air campaign to destroy enemy capabilities and to kill enemy fighters in that area already.That is something that we are going to continue and intensify with this new capability,COL Dorrian explained.*
On 20 March 2017,coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIL in Syria,including:
Near Abu Kamal,three strikes destroyed three wellheads and a pump jack;
Near Raqqa,19 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units;destroyed four pieces of oil lubricant equipment;three barges;three fighting positions;three headquarters;two VBIED facilities;two VBIEDs;a VBIED factory;a tunnel;a vehicle;a weapons storage facility;a command and control node;and damaged two supply nodes.*
Strikes are conducted by fighter,attack,bomber,rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft;rocket-propelled artillery;some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets.Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to manoeuvre roles is not classified as a strike,the CJTFOIR says.*
Those who have participated in Syria strikes include Australia;Bahrain;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;Saudi Arabia;Turkey;the UAE;and the UK.

War On ISIL:US Army Artillery,Helicopters Open Up on Militants

The US Army is becoming more active in the anti-ISIL effort Operation Inherent Resolve.On 3 June 2016,soldiers with 1st Battalion,320 Field Artillery Regiment,2nd Brigade Combat Team,101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) fired an M777 howitzer from Kara Soar Counter Fire Complex,Iraq during a night operation in support of the Iraqi Army.Such fire missions enable the Iraqi Army to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,Combined Joint Task Force-OIR said.
Kara Soar CFC was established in March 2016 and was initially manned by US Marines of Task Force Spartan,the last 170 of whom departed from the fire base for Camp Lejeune,North Carolina on 10 June 2016.They were relieved by the 101st Airborne troops.About 15 miles/24 kilometers from ISIL territory,Kara Soar in Northern Iraq is a key staging area for the Iraqi Army's mission to retake Mosul from ISIL.*
In other US Army activity in Iraq,AH-64 Apache helicopters have been used in OIR combat operations for the first time,US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters on his way to the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels,Belgium.More than one Apache was sent to assist in the effort to recapture Mosul on 3 June 2016,and one of these attack helos fired on and struck an ISIL vehicle.The Apaches have been in Iraq since early spring and are at the disposal of the Iraqi government in their campaign against the Islamist extremist militants.