Air Force strike aircraft remained heavily engaged in coalition operations June 2 in Afghanistan, Air Forces Central announced June 3. F-15Es and A-10s dropped a general-purpose 500 pound bomb, a 500-pound laser-guided bomb, and 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions onto enemy combatants in the vicinity of Bahramchan. An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle fired a Hellfire missile at enemy combatants in Kandahar. Further, A-10s dispensed rockets and cannon rounds at enemy combatant fighting positions in the vicinity of Nangalam, and F-15Es hit enemy positions in the same area with 500-pound and 2,000-pound JDAMs. And in Zormat, F-15Es struck enemy combatants with a 500-pound JDAM and 500-pound LGBs. All of these missions were reported as successful, AFCENT said. In total, USAF and coalition aircraft flew 52 close air support missions June 2 in Afghanistan. In Iraq, there were 67 CAS missions on that day.
When the Air Force sets a new program baseline for the B-52 re-engining this fall, there will be “some” cost increase, because the project wasn't previously fully funded, and the Air Force has a better handle on actual supplier costs and knowledge from ground testing, program officials said.