USAF F-16s and A-10s deployed to support operations in Iraq provided close air support—in spades—to coalition ground forces under attack near An Najaf on Jan. 28, according to a Feb. 3 US Central Command Air Forces release from Balad AB, Iraq. The F-16s operating out of Balad and A-10s from Al Asad Air Base dropped more than 3.5 tons of precision munitions 
and some 3,000-plus rounds of cannon fire over a five square mile area. The operation killed more than 200 insurgents and led to the capture of another 100. The F-16s are from the 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano AB, Italy; 14th FS, Misawa AB, Japan; and 332nd FS, Balad. The A-10s are from the 74th FS at Pope AFB, N.C.
The emphasis on speed in the Pentagon’s newly unveiled slate of acquisition reforms may come with increased near-term cost increases, analysts say. But according to U.S. defense officials, the new weapons-buying construct provides the military with enough flexibility to prevent runaway budget overruns in major programs.
