Speaking of that Raptor deployment, the 1st Equipment Maintenance Squadron at Langley AFB, Va., sent 10 ammunition troops to help the fighter squadron carry out its work. The ammo airmen left before the F/A-22s made their cross-country flight so that they could be in place to build 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions for the training exercises. This variant of the JDAM is new to the Air Force arsenal, and the 1st EMS were eage to see how a concrete-filled inert version would perform on the Raptor. A transmitter in the concrete sent data to aircraft contractors who monitored the drops. They will use the data to help configure the weapon more accurately. The Air Force can use these kinds of weapons to attack specific buildings while avoiding collateral damage caused by a blast.
An F-16 pilot was awarded a Silver Star for a harrowing mission in which he dodged multiple surface-to-air missiles during the opening weeks of the operation against the Houthis in Yemen earlier this year.
