Among the 48 close air support missions flown by coalition aircraft on June 16 in Afghanistan were sorties by A-10s against enemy combatants in Bagram, Air Forces Central said in a June 17 statement. These Warthogs fired cannon rounds and attacked with 500-pound laser-guided bombs, successfully taking out the targets, AFCENT said. B-1B bombers were also active on that day, striking enemy positions near Bari Kowt with 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions and a 500-pound JDAM. In Iraq, there were 30 CAS missions flown June 16.
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.