F-15Es struck enemy combatant fighting positions June 1 in the vicinity of Nangalam, Afghanistan, with 500-pound joint direct attack munitions and one 2,000-pound JDAM, Air Forces Central announced June 2. A joint terminal attack controller confirmed the success of these attacks. Also in Afghanistan on that day, an F-15E dropped 500-pound JDAMs onto enemy combatants in Qalenaw, “successfully eliminating the targets,” AFCENT said. In total, coalition aircraft flew 52 close-air-support missions in Afghanistan and 69 in Iraq on June 1.
The U.S. supports “a stronger and more capable” European defense, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said during an Oct. 22 press conference in Brussels—but that defense should not duplicate the functions and capabilities of the NATO alliance.