US aircraft recently conducted multiple airstrikes targeting the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, the first new operations under expanded authority as part of Operation Resolute Support. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said “the first use of these authorities involved airstrikes” in the southern portion of the country, but he would not expand on specifically where or what was targeted at the request of commanders in theater. The White House earlier this month expanded the authority of the top US commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, to determine when to target the Taliban, either by air or with American forces accompanying conventional Afghan troops, in an effort to ebb gains by the group inside the country.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
