Maryland Air National Guard Will Soon Deploy To Fight ISIS

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- There are some powerful new fighters in the war on ISIS. Maryland's Air National Guard will soon begin deploying overseas, along with their powerful A10 attack jets.

Investigator Mike Hellgren has more on how the threat saved the A10's demise and how Maryland is playing a huge role in battling ISIS.

Members of Maryland's Air National Guard will be flying over Syria by the fall and that mission gave a new lease on life to the aircraft they use.

The US air campaign against ISIS will soon get a boost from Maryland.

One pilot---who for security reasons asked WJZ to not use his name---will be in the cockpit of a Maryland-based A10 fighting ISIS on its turf. This is his sixth combat mission; his first was just after September 11.

"When we see these horrible groups around the world, we can't just sit back and allow that to take place. It's our job to go out there and prevent that from continuing. We don't want to have another September 11. We don't want to have that threat here in our homeland," the pilot said.

And ISIS may have saved Maryland's A10s. This week, the defense secretary told lawmakers the attack jet was no longer on the budget chopping block and would stick around until 2022 because it's particularly suited to fighting ISIS missions, circling targets for lengthy periods, nimble at lower, slower speeds and making it easier to provide close air support.

The Maryland pilots get extensive training.

"Our formal process started approximately six months ago with a detailed month-by-month and sometimes week-by-week training plan," the pilot said. "Just to understand the geopolitical situation, and it's very complex. In order to understand what is motivating them, what are they trying to accomplish and what is our role in stopping that?"

Maryland joins several other states fighting ISIS but officials are releasing few details about the mission, citing safety.

For these pilots, the risks are worth it.

"It's a very emotional situation for us as a team to go put forth this effort---the amount of sacrifice for those who are there, as well as the family members at home," the pilot said. "If that means we have to go faraway places in order to defend our way of life, then that's what we need to do."

The Air National Guard will not say how many people are deploying, due to security reasons.

The A10s are uniquely designed for close air support, which is critical in battling ISIS.