Two B-1B bombers and four F-16 fighters carried out precision air strikes Jan. 10 against reported al Qaeda safe havens in Iraq’s Arab Jabour area. The Air Force reports more than 40 targets were hit in the raids during which the aircraft dispensed a total of 40,000 pounds of ordnance. The air strikes supported Phantom Phoenix, the overarching operation that includes Marne Thunderbolt, the large US-Iraqi ground push to rid Arab Jabour of anti-coalition elements.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.