US Central Command Air Forces applied intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance air assets combined with precision strike and close air support to aid coalition ground forces in Afghanistan Jan. 10, killing as many as 150 insurgents. CENTAF deputy command, Maj. Gen. William Holland called it a “perfect example” in the “flexibility and combat capability” of combined air assets. The action took place in the Paktika province, where two large groups of insurgents moving across the border from Pakistan were tracked as they launched an attack against coalition ground forces.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.