Petraeus Lauds B-1B

The general in line to take over coalition operations in Afghanistan had words of praise Tuesday for the B-1B bomber and its contributions to the counterinsurgency in that nation. “It is a great platform in at least two respects, maybe more,” Army Gen. David Petraeus told Senate Armed Services Committee members during his nomination hearing to become commander of US Forces-Afghanistan. He is currently US Central Command boss. Petraeus said, for one, the B-1 “carries a heck of a lot of bombs, substantial ordnance.” Is also “has some very good” intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance capabilities like the Sniper targeting pod. “It is almost like having another unmanned aerial vehicle, in terms of full-motion video,” when the B-1 is overhead, he said. Further, Petraeus said the B-1 “can loiter for a good time.” Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) asked Petraeus about the B-1. The 28th Bomb Wing operates 28 B-1s at Ellsworth Air Force Base in Thune’s state. Last week the Daily Report reported that the Air Force was considering eliminating the entire B-1 fleet as a cost-savings measure.