ADVERTISEMENT

B-1B Hammers Taliban

July 13, 2006

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

A US Air Force B-1B bomber providing close air support near Musah Qal’eh in Afghanistan Tuesday fired a GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition on Taliban extremists engaging coalition ground forces with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades—the attack stopped. French Air Force M-2000s also provided CAS during the encounter. This encounter (and the one below) follows hard on the heels of the A-10 air strike conducted Monday on a Taliban compound.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Trending Stories

Hegseth Directs Air Force to Establish New Guard Special Tactics Squadron

Bigger Than a Cessna, Smaller Than a C-130: Air Force Funds Blended-Wing Body Concept

Air Force’s Top Planner Lays Out Vision for Fighter Fleet Mix by 2035

Hegseth Highlights Defense Manufacturing Push with Visit to Future ‘Doomsday’ Planes

Related

Pentagon, Lockheed Agree on 10-Year Framework for Buying F-35s

Oct. 22, 2026
The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin on Oct. 22 announced a framework agreement to buy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the next 10 years. But the deal, touted by the Pentagon as “landmark” and a first of its kind, depends on Congress granting the military authority to enter into such a…

Michael Wynne, Fired as SECAF Alongside CSAF Moseley, Dead at 82 

Oct. 22, 2026
Michael Wynne, the 21st Secretary of the Air Force died Oct. 17. He was 82 years old. Wynne was Secretary from 2005 to 2008, a stretch of time when the U.S. military was struggling to quell insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Army was struggling to simultaneously man occupation…

What a Russian Satellite Stalking a Commercial Spacecraft Means for the Space Force

Oct. 21, 2026
Over a two-week period beginning in late September and culminating in mid-October, a Russian satellite maneuvered dangerously close to a commercial Finnish satellite currently providing intelligence to the Ukrainian military. The apparent provocation has experts wondering why Russia made the move—testing new capabilities, collecting intelligence, or trying to intimidate the…

Stealthy F-117 Nighthawk Goes on Display at Smithsonian

Oct. 21, 2026
A historic Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is now on permanent display at the National Air and Space Museum’s Stephen F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The exhibit debuted Oct. 21, showcasing the first operational stealth aircraft at one of the most visited aircraft museums in the world.

Space Force Needs Third Launch Range by 2030, Acquisition Leader Says

Oct. 21, 2026
The head of the Space Force’s largest acquisition organization said the service needs a third spaceport to support medium and heavy launch by 2030—a goal he called “aspirational” even as he stressed the importance of building out the U.S. military’s launch infrastructure.