It’s Still an Air War: Air Force and coalition strike aircraft remained busy in the skies over Afghanistan July 2, conducting 54 close-air-support mission overall, Air Forces Central said in a July 3 release. Among these activities, A-10s attacked anti-Afghan government forces near Bari Kowt with cannon rounds, rockets, and 500-pound general purpose bombs, AFCENT said. A B-1B bomber used a 2,000-pound joint direct attack munition and 500-pound JDAMs against an enemy position in the vicinity of Qalenaw. Further, F-15Es dropped a 2,000-pound JDAM and 500-pound JDAMs onto enemy fighting positions by Nagalam, and an MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle struck a cave in Gereshk with Hellfire missiles and a 500-pound laser-guided bomb. AFCENT said there were also 41 CAS missions in Iraq on July 2.
The House of Representatives likely won’t get the 2021 defense policy bill on to the floor for a vote until as late as July, as the Biden administration has not yet released its proposed budget and is making a major infrastructure bill its main priority, a key lawmaker said May…