Air Force strike aircraft made frequent use of satellite-guided joint direct attack munitions June 4 in Afghanistan in support of combat operations, Air Forces Central said in a June 5 release. For example, F-15Es took out enemy buildings in Bahramchan and Sangin with 500-pound versions of the bomb, according to AFCENT. And B-1B bombers employed 500-pound and 2,000-pound JDAMs against enemy combatants and positions near Kabul, in Nangalam, and in the vicinity of Sangin. In total, coalition aircraft flew 56 close air support missions June 4 in Afghanistan. In Iraq, coalition aircraft flew 74 CAS missions on that day.
The Air Force awarded a $13.08 billion contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation on April 26 for its Survivable Airborne Operations Center aircraft, the successor to the service’s E-4B “Doomsday” plane. Like the E-4B, officially called the National Airborne Operations Center, the SAOC will be meant to withstand a nuclear attack and keep…