The A-10, known for its prowess as an attack platform against enemy land forces, took on a different role this week in supporting coalition operations against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s forces. An A-10 engaged two small Libyan watercraft in the Libyan port of Misurata, US Africa Command officials announced Tuesday. The Libyan craft, operating with a Libyan coast guard vessel, were indiscriminately firing upon merchant vessels in the port on Monday, prompting coalition response. A Navy P-3C maritime patrol aircraft engaged the coast guard vessel with AGM-65F Maverick missiles, rendering it ineffective and forcing the Libyans to beach it. Meanwhile, the A-10 fired upon the two small craft with its 30mm Gatling gun, destroying one and forcing the Libyans to abandon the other, according to AFRICOM. The A-10 is one of the most recent aircraft additions to the coalition’s quiver in Operation Odyssey Dawn. (AFRICOM release)
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.