BEYOND THE "BOMBER"

PGMs, along with improved Intelligence and communications, have greatly increased bomber versatility.
From World War II through Desert Storm, mission planners selected bomber targets long before takeoff.
The ability to change targets while en route was limited; in many cases, the only options were to abort the
mission or divert to a secondary preplanned target if visibility over the primary target was poor. Starting
with Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, bombers could launch from their distant base without any
preplanned targets. Bomber crews received their instructions and updates while in flight. Orbiting over the
combat zone, they engaged time-sensitive targets called in by terminal attack controllers on the ground,
responding within minutes of the request. 72 In Operation Iraqi Freedom, B-1 bombers loaded with JDAMs
acted as “roving linebackers” that provided on-call fire to destroy enemy forces with ground units acting as
ISR sensors. Perhaps the best-known example of this time-sensitive targeting in Iraq was the effort to kill
Saddam Hussein. Within 15 minutes of the order to do so, a B-1 dropped four JDAMs on his suspected
location. The intelligence was not accurate, but the event illustrated the bomber’s responsiveness. 73
Bombers not only can destroy a large number of targets on a single sortie, but can also carry a mix of
weapons to attack different types of targets. The Generic Weapons Interface System on the B-2 is a software
package that allows the aircraft to carry different mixes of standoff weapons and direct-attack munitions.
The B-2 can thus attack with precision weapons on a single mission up to four different types of targets,
such as armored vehicles, air defenses, command-and-control bunkers, airfields, and a variety of other
individual targets. 74 Bombers can carry enough weapons to attack “pop-up” air defense threats while en
route to the target, and have a significant electronic attack capability. Therefore, they can operate relatively
independently in enemy airspace, with a reduced requirement for supporting escorts.
Since World War II, heavy bombers have rarely been used as they were in that conflict, to destroy the
enemy’s cities and war industries. Instead, bombers have focused on interdicting enemy logistics and
troop movements and on smashing enemy troop formations in contact with American forces. German,
North Korean, North Vietnamese, Iraqi, and Serbian troops have experienced the shattering military and
psychological effects of American bomber attacks. Since the advent of PGMs, bombers have provided
highly efficient and effective close air support. Range, payload, and accuracy make the bomber a persistent
source of precision firepower. During operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the large payload of the bombers
employed meant that they could stay on station for long periods with critical weapon loads.
High payload and large internal capacity permit LRSS aircraft to carry the munitions needed to destroy
hardened and deeply buried targets. These targets may include command bunkers or facilities for the
production or storage of weapons of mass destruction. An F-15E can carry only a single 5,000-pound GBU-
28 bunker-buster bomb, but the B-2 can carry eight of them. Only the B-2 is certified to operationally
carry the 30,000-pound GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator that can penetrate 200 feet underground
before detonating.
72 Theisen, p. 12.
73 Thomas Withington, B-1B Lancer Units in Combat (New York: Osprey, 2006), pp. 69-80.
74 Withington, B-2A Spirit Units in Combat, p. 24.
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