A
n MQ-9 Reaper hunter/killer unmanned aerial vehicle last week dropped its first precision guided munition during operations over Afghanistan. SSgt. Trevor Tiernan reports that the Reaper, which USAF sent to Southwest Asia in September and which performed its first strike—using a Hellfire missile—last month, responded to a request for assistance from ground forces on Nov. 7 during a reconnaissance flight. The joint terminal attack controller working with coalition ground forces in Afghanistan provided targeting data to the Reaper’s pilot and sensor operator at Creech AFB, Nev. The pilot released two GBU-12 500-pound laser-guided bombs, taking out the enemy fighters.
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.
