In December 2021, a multi-part New York Times investigation examined how the U.S. military’s air campaign against the Islamic State resulted in far higher civilian casualties than officially reported. It was part of a package that later was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

The documentation built upon Airwars securing the most comprehensive locational data on civilian harm ever released by the US military. By matching those incidents with internal civilian harm documents released to The New York times, the landmark reporting exposed the scale of failure in the U.S. civilian harm mitigation and protection policies. The investigation ultimately helped lead to the U.S. government announcing sweeping policy reforms.

Airwars was the only NGO cited in the investigation and multiple incidents first documented by Airwars were referenced in the investigation.