F-15Es dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs and 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions on enemy combatants engaging friendly forces in the vicinity of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on July 5, Air Forces Central said in a release. Also, A-10s attacked anti-Afghan government forces with 500-pound LGBs near Zormat and a B-1B struck enemy combatants near Musa Qaleh with 500-pound JDAMs. All of these missions were reported by on-scene joint terminal attack controllers as being successful, AFCENT said. In total, there were 43 close-air-support missions in Afghanistan and 55 in Iraq on July 5.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
