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.
The "Air Force One" replacement will be two to three years late due to pandemic issues, testing, and the loss of a subcontractor on the interior, USAF officials reported at a House Armed Services Committee hearing. They were also warned that some HASC members will insist on a competition for…