Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Hoog, director of the air planning element for operations in Iraq, says that the time it takes coalition forces to “generate GPS-level accurate coordinates” is classified but “it’s measured in minutes.” Hoog briefed reporters in Baghdad late last week on the specifics of the June 7 F-16 air strike on the safe house of terror leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi, saying that the lead F-16 dropped both the GBU-12 laser-guided bomb and the follow-on GBU-38 GPS-aided bomb. With the first bomb, the pilot steered the laser spot onto the target; with the second, the pilot entered the satellite coordinates and the GBU-38 did the rest. Hoog noted that it’s routine for F-16s on patrol over Iraq to carry both munitions. He added that it took perhaps 24 seconds for the bombs to travel the three to 3.5 nautical miles to “successfully hit their target.”
The first flight of the secretive B-21 bomber has slipped to mid-2022, but the program is moving along well, Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office director Randall Walden said in an exclusive interview. The second copy of the B-21, which will be used for structural testing, is now on the production…