USAF F-15 and F-16 fighters struck targets near Baghdad on Dec. 13. The F-16s fired precision-guided munitions to cut off bridge access for insurgents. The F-15s launched PGMs against a bunker used by enemy forces. On the same day, US Navy F-18s provided close air support for coalition troops that encountered enemy forces near Balad.
An important U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry AWACS command and control plane was among the aircraft damaged in a March 27 Iranian missile and drone attack on Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, people familiar with the matter told Air & Space Forces Magazine.