Several media outlets have filmed a U.S. B-1 circling over Kobane during the air strikes on ISIS. Footage shows flashing light come out of the plane: most probably nothing more than a strobe light.

On Oct. 8, a B-1B “Lancer” from Al Udeid took part in the air strikes against ISIS militants around Kobane, the Syrian town located close to the border with Turkey.

As happened on the previous day, the aircraft performed a BAI (Battlefield Air Interdiction) mission, circling at high altitude for more than one hour. Several media outlets, including the CNN, filmed the plane. Some people noticed a weird intermittent flashing light coming out of the B-1B. Although someone wondered whether the light was generated by some sort of targeting device, the light was probably one of the aircraft strobes.

Why were the strobe lights turned on during a war mission inside foreign airspace? Most probably U.S. aircrews are more concerned of deconfliction with other traffic rather than being targeted by the enemy ground fire (the latter being a risk that should be taken into consideration as ISIS get their hands on anti-aircraft weaponry).

H/T to Johnny Hallam for the heads up

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