Direct proof of use
U.S. Army imagery from Taji Airbase, Iraq, documented 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment maintainers loading a Hydra 70 air-to-surface rocket into an Apache rocket pod on September 22, 2016. The DVIDS caption states that Apaches had been approved for offensive operations in Iraq in support of Combined Joint Forces Land Component Command - Operation Inherent Resolve, providing surveillance and fires support to Iraqi security forces.
A Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve release dated October 12, 2019 separately recorded Task Force Air advisers divesting 1,120 2.75-inch rockets and radios to Iraqi Army Aviation for the defeat-Daesh mission. The same release identified the rockets as a weapon system on the Iraqi Bell 407GX light attack helicopter.
Sources: DVIDS Apache Rocket Loading, CJTF-OIR Coalition Highlights October 2019
Timeline
The public record ties 2.75-inch rockets to the campaign in at least two roles. In September 2016, U.S. Apache crews at Taji were documented with Hydra 70 rockets during the period when coalition rotary-wing aircraft were supporting Iraqi security forces. In October 2019, coalition air advisers documented a transfer package of 1,120 2.75-inch rockets to Iraqi Army Aviation after the territorial defeat of ISIS, when the mission emphasized continued partner-force capacity and operations against remnants.
Sources: DVIDS Apache Rocket Loading, CJTF-OIR Coalition Highlights October 2019, CJTF-OIR History
Narrative
In Operation Inherent Resolve, 2.75-inch rockets appear in the documented aviation fire-support layer rather than as a separate ground munition. The clearest source-backed example is the Hydra 70 rocket loaded onto U.S. AH-64 Apache helicopters at Taji Airbase in 2016 for offensive operations, surveillance, and fires support to Iraqi security forces.
The 2019 coalition release shows the same rocket caliber moving into Iraqi partner-force aviation sustainment. By recording the transfer to Iraqi Army Aviation and linking the rockets to the Bell 407GX light attack helicopter, CJTF-OIR treated the rockets as part of the partner rotary-wing combat power used for the continuing defeat-Daesh mission.
The available official sources support U.S. Apache fielding and Iraqi Army Aviation transfer/use context. They do not identify individual targets struck by 2.75-inch rockets, rocket warhead variants, expenditure totals in combat, or confirmed Syrian-theater employment for this weapon family.
Sources: DVIDS Apache Rocket Loading, CJTF-OIR Coalition Highlights October 2019, CJTF-OIR Campaign
