US and coalition strike aircraft carried out 70 close air support missions in Afghanistan and 56 in Iraq on July 17, with Air Force A-10s, B-1Bs, and F-15Es leading the way, based on Air Forces Central’s summary of air activities for that day. In Afghanistan, B-1Bs were active near Nangalam and Shindad, attacking enemy positions with 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions. Also near Nangalam, A-10s hit enemy positions with general-purpose 500-pound bombs and strafed them with cannon rounds and rockets. F-15Es were also engaged enemy combatants near Nangalam, pounding them with 2,000-pound JDAMs.
The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force has unveiled a new electronic warfare drone designed to fly with fighter jets into contested airspace, including alongside its fleet of F-35s. RAF says it plans to develop models that draw on the U.S. Air Force’s approach of mating unmanned systems with crewed platforms.