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.
The Air Force is seeking funding to let its pilots fly a little more than 1.1 million hours in fiscal 2027, which would be the most in about four years. But even if Airmen actually do fly all 1.1 million hours, it would still be short of the 1.3 million…