B-1B bombers deployed to Al-Ubeid Airbase in Qatar probably carried out the airstrikes in Iraq. Source: US Air Force
US Heavy Bombers Carry Out More Strikes In Iraq -- IHS Jane 360
US heavy bombers - probably Rockwell B-1B Lancers - have carried out a second series of airstrikes against the Islamic State militant group in Iraq.
The bombers' participation was revealed by a 7 September US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement, which said the air operation had targeted Islamic State in Syria and the Levant (ISIL) forces around Al-Hadithah Dam, aimed at preventing then seizing the dam and flooding government-controlled areas downstream.
The dam operation - the first US airstrikes in the western province of Al-Anbar since the start of the current crisis - is a signal that the US is increasingly willing to employ air power to support Iraqi government forces, as well as the Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State further to the north.
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Update: US to intensify bombing campaign against Isis in Iraq -- The Guardian
My Comment: I have always been a skeptic of "limited war" and "targeted air strikes". The B-1 Bomber's value is against heavily concentrated formations of enemy troops that could be taken out with heavy bombs. The Islamic State does not operate that way .... if there is a weapon that should be used against them .... it is helicopter gunships and the A-10. But such a deployment would mean a major escalation in the U.S. war against the Islamic State .... a path that the White House is clearly not ready to take.
1 comment:
I suspect the B1 may be cheaper to use than the steal bomber. There is less risk of loss of tech be wone crashing due to mechanical failure or hostile fire.
Using the B1 justifies its' existence. I believe its existence was justified in the 1st place. But such expensive hardware is really hard to justify in a cash strapped nation with peaceniks and a social welfare state.
Less risk I think of a B1 crew getting captured than an A10 pilot. I think that figures in as well.
But your right I think an A10 or helicopter would be a better choice.
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