USAF F-15E Strike Eagles and Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets in separate actions in Afghanistan last week flew close air support missions, aiding coalition ground forces near Dowlet Shah and Now Zad, according to Central Command Air Forces. One F-15E successfully bombed enemy forces moving along a ridge trail near Dowlet Shah, using a GBU-12 laser guided bomb. Another F-15E struck a hilltop enemy mortar position near Now Zad, while two F/A-18s used GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions on two other enemy mortar firing positions near the same village. Another F/A-18, also firing a GBU-38 JDAM, scored a direct hit on an enemy building near Sangin.
The Air Force is launching an effort to develop a new stand-off missile with a range of 1,000 nautical miles, or 1,150 miles, that would eventually be used for both air-to-air and air-to-surface missions.