B-1B bombers used 500-pound and 2,000-pound joint direct attack munitions to destroy enemy rocket positions and compounds near Uruzgan, Afghanistan, on June 27, Air Forces Central said in a release the following day. These strikes were part of the 47 close air support missions flown by coalition aircraft in Afghanistan and the 70 CAS missions in Iraq on June 27, AFCENT said. On June 26, there was a total of 56 CAS mission in Afghanistan and 70 in Iraq, the command reported. They included an F-16 taking out an enemy bunker in the vicinity of Baqubah, Iraq, with a 2,000 pound-JDAM.
The Pentagon is considering ditching the Air Force’s plan to buy the E-7 Wedgetail as it looks to outsource the airborne target-tracking mission to space, defense officials indicated this week.