A nine
-member crew of a US Air Force C-130 Hercules, deployed to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, dropped 30,000 warning leaflets over the mountains of southeastern Afghanistan on March 6, in support of Operation Achilles. The leaflets, aimed at warning Taliban extremists not to interfere with coalition activities, came from the International Security Assistance Force. ISAF officials believe the leaflet drop will aid their efforts to improve security in areas where extremists and criminal elements are attempting to derail the Afghan government and impede efforts by village elders to take charge of their communities.
The Collaborative Combat Aircraft will be operational in the late 2020s, several years before the Next-Generation Air Dominance family of systems, Air Force officials told the House Armed Services tactical aviation panel. The CCAs will first be “shooters,” then electronic warfare platforms, then sensors, in that order, they added.