An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle dropped 500-pound laser-guided bombs on enemy combatants near Kandahar, Afghanistan, on July 9, Air Forces Central said in a release yesterday. This attack was one of the 71 close air support missions flown by coalition aircraft in Afghanistan on that day. Others included F-15Es hitting enemy combatants near Qalat with 500-pound joint direct attack munitions and attacking enemy forces with 2,000-pound JDAMs in the vicinity of Shkin. There were 51 CAS missions in Iraq on July 9, AFCENT said, including an F-16 taking out an improvised explosive device near Khan Bani Sad with a 500-pound JDAM. All of these missions were successful, according to on-scene joint terminal attack controllers.
The Air Force is spending heavily on F-22 improvements through the end of the decade, suggesting it may not retire the jet in 2030 as it previously planned. New sensors, fuel tanks, communications, and electronic warfare systems are among the upgrades that comprise the package.