Coalition strike aircraft flew 42 close air support missions in Afghanistan on July 16 and an equal number of sorties in Iraq on that day, Air Forces Central said in a release. In Afghanistan, a B-1B bomber dropped 500-pound joint direct attack munitions and one 2,000-pound JDAM on enemy combatants near Sangin. And in the vicinity of Nangalam, an F-15E attacked enemy forces with 500-pound JDAMs.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
