The Air Force carries out the first successful test of a full-up GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM). During this test, the 2,000-pound weapon was released from an F-16C Fighting Falcon flying at 20,000 feet at Mach 0.8 over the test range at Eglin AFB, Fla. The range had a cloud cover at 10,000 feet and the pilot could not see the target when he released the weapon. The JDAM tail kit received satellite updates during its flight and missed the bull’s-eye by only 9.2 meters, well within the required 13 meters.
Less than a day after arriving in the Middle East, F-15E Strike Eagles from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. defended Israel from an Iranian attack in April 2024. DUDE flight, four F-15Es from the 335th Fighter Squadron, downed two dozen Iranian drones in roughly 45 minutes.