Viper Pods Paying Off: 
Air National Guard F-16s equipped with Theater Airborne Reconnaissance System targeting pods have added a new dimension for ground forces in Southwest Asia, providing high-quality still imagery of tactical objectives. F-16 Vipers from the 332nd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, at Balad AB, Iraq, recently provided TARS imagery to aid coalition mission planning for a raid on a house that turned up insurgents and a weapons cache, according to New Jersey ANG Lt. Col. Kerry Gentry, the 332nd commander. TARS-equipped F-16s also provide battle damage assessment of air strike targets, since the pods can take pictures of a site before a GPS munition impact and then perform a post-drop analysis. (Other USAF assets also are providing this non-traditional type intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capability.)
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.
