US and coalition strike aircraft kept up the pressure on anti-government forces in Afghanistan on July 15, flying a total of 71 close air support missions, Air Forces Centralannounced yesterday. Air Force A-10s, B-1Bs, F-15Es, and MQ-1s were all in the fray. A-10s, for example, dropped 500-pounds laser-guided bombs onto enemy forces near Nangalam and fired cannon rounds at them, while F-15Es pounded enemy positions with 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions in the same area. Further, in the vicinity of Worzhanah Kalay, F-15Es struck enemy positions with 500-pound LGBs as well as 500-pound and 2,000-pound JDAMs. And B-1Bs attacked enemy forces with 500-pound JDAMs near Bagram and Kandahahr, and an MQ-1 hit enemy combatants with a Hellfire missile near Zormat. Meanwhile, there were 36 CAS missions in Iraq on July 15, including F-16s striking enemy combatants with 500-pound LGBs and JDAMs near Khan Bani Sad.
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.