USAF F-16s fired 500-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions, successfully destroying a booby-trapped house in the vicinity of Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq, on Nov. 23. According to Central Command Air Forces, coalition forces discovered the house in a search of the area following an attack on Iraqi Army soldiers by insurgents on Nov. 21. As an explosive ordnance team checked the house, coalition forces cleared civilians from the surrounding area. F-16s aircrews deployed from Air Force Reserve Command’s 457th Fighter Squadron, NAS JRB Fort Worth, Tex., flew the strike mission.
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.