Pure supposition about RAE, but, in this situation, no matter how good it is, in a small area you will use up what you have and need more. The only way you will get more is through resupply and most likely by air.
CAS cuts out the middle man.
That is not to say that more effective weapons would not be useful, and again, not suggesting that what they have is not useful but as stated earlier:
quality counts every time but is best in large numbers