USAF F-16s and A-10s deployed to support operations in Iraq provided close air support—in spades—to coalition ground forces under attack near An Najaf on Jan. 28, according to a Feb. 3 US Central Command Air Forces release from Balad AB, Iraq. The F-16s operating out of Balad and A-10s from Al Asad Air Base dropped more than 3.5 tons of precision munitions
and some 3,000-plus rounds of cannon fire over a five square mile area. The operation killed more than 200 insurgents and led to the capture of another 100. The F-16s are from the 510th Fighter Squadron, Aviano AB, Italy; 14th FS, Misawa AB, Japan; and 332nd FS, Balad. The A-10s are from the 74th FS at Pope AFB, N.C.
The first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…