Coalition aircraft flew 54 close air support missions in Afghanistan on June 14, with A-10s and F-15Es leading the way, Air Forces Central announced June 15. Among the kinetic strikes on that day, F-15Es used 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions and 500-pound laser-guided bombs to take out anti-Afghan government forces in the vicinities of Lwara, Nangalam, Orgun-E, and Qal-E-Naw. And A-10s dropped 500-pound LGBs against enemy forces in Garmser and near Uruzgan. AFCENT said on-the-scene joint terminal attack controllers confirmed the success of each mission. On June 14, there were 53 CAS missions flown in Iraq.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.