USAF F-15E Strike Eagles and Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets in separate actions in Afghanistan last week flew close air support missions, aiding coalition ground forces near Dowlet Shah and Now Zad, according to Central Command Air Forces. One F-15E successfully bombed enemy forces moving along a ridge trail near Dowlet Shah, using a GBU-12 laser guided bomb. Another F-15E struck a hilltop enemy mortar position near Now Zad, while two F/A-18s used GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions on two other enemy mortar firing positions near the same village. Another F/A-18, also firing a GBU-38 JDAM, scored a direct hit on an enemy building near Sangin.
The Next-Generation Air Dominance Fighter is Air Combat Command’s top priority, because without it, the Air Force can’t provide the control of the air the whole military depends on to operate, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said. He also named a replacement for the E-3 AWACS, new…