First airstrike by Air Force F-35s targets ISIS tunnels and weapons in Iraq – By Washington Examiner Staff (Washington Examiner) / April 30 2019
In a first for the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons system ever, two Air Force F-35A joint strike fighter jets dropped satellite-guided bombs on ISIS tunnels and weapons caches in the Hamrin Mountains, marking the A model’s first combat attack mission.
The strikes targeted ISIS positions deep in the Hamrin Mountains, southwest of Kirkuk, where the terrorist group is attempting to reestablish a foothold.
U.S. Air Forces Central Command touted the milestone for the A model of the plane, flown by the Air Force, in a press release shortly after the strikes were carried out successfully.
The B model of the plane, flown by the Marine Corps, conducted an airstrike last year in Afghanistan.
The cost of the F-35 program totals more than $400 billion, with the sticker price of the cheapest model of the plane running about $89 million a copy.
But the price has been gradually coming down as more of the stealthy planes are produced by Lockheed Martin, and the Pentagon hopes the A model will eventually cost closer to $75 million.
Besides its stealthy design, the F-35’s big advantage is its ability to share information from its many sensors with other U.S. aircraft flying nearby.
