B-2 Spirit bombers played a rare, integrated combat role alongside Air Force, allied, and joint service aircraft during Red Flag 15-1 at Nellis AFB, Nev., earlier this month. “Many people don’t know and understand what our capabilities are or what we can do for a combatant commander,” said Lt. Col. Bradley Cochran, commander of the 393rd Bomb Squadron from Whiteman AFB, Mo. At Red Flag, “we are able to work with other aircraft and our coalition partners in order to teach them what the B-2 can do, which helps us integrate more effectively into any future combat operation,” he added in a release. Whiteman’s B-2s participated in large-force employment exercises with US F-22s, F-16s, F-15Es, and a variety of command and control and electronic warfare aircraft, in addition to British Typhoon fighters, AWACs, and Sentinel ISR platforms, according to a Nellis release. Red Flag 15-1 ran Jan. 26 to Feb. 13.
U.S. munitions have been expended at a high rate during Operation Epic Fury against Iran, prompting concerns that the Pentagon is eating into weapons stockpiles it needs to deter threats around the world. Yet the newly released $1.5 trillion defense budget request was developed before the war against Iran and…