F-15Es dropped 500-pound joint direct attack munitions and 2,000-pound JDAMs May 27 in Nagalam, Afghanistan, to take out enemy combatants engaging friendly forces, Air Forces Central announced May 28. These attacks were part of the 47 total close air support missions flown in Afghanistan on that day. Also included in the tally were strikes by A-10s with a 500-pound laser-guided bomb and additional 500-pound bombs against enemy forces in Shinkay, an attack by a B-1B bomber with a 500-pound JDAM on enemy combatants in Qal-E-Naw, and the release of a 500-pound LGB from an MQ-9A Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle against enemy forces in Kandahar. These missions were deemed successful by joint terminal attack controllers, AFCENT said.
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.