American pilots call it “going Winchester,” when a warplane drops every bomb on board, and air crews for the B-1 bomber told AFP it was not uncommon in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobane, recaptured by Kurdish forces last month.
The airmen, recently returned from a six-month stint flying combat missions over Syria and Iraq, recounted how American aircraft relentlessly pounded Islamic State jihadists fighting the Kurds in Kobane.
The heavy bombing, not seen since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, helped the Kurds hold and eventually recapture the northern border town last month, a symbolic blow to the extremists who appeared on the verge of seizing Kobane in October.
“When you went to Kobane, you could almost guarantee you were going to release a weapon that day,” said Captain Todd Saksa, a B-1 weapons systems officer.
via In battle for Kobane, US crews recount heavy bombing.
One has a sneaking suspicion an Air Force PAO set this up as a quiet way of suggesting the plan to retire the A-10 won’t be the disaster some folks are claiming it will be.
On the other hand, the B-1 really does have the attributes claimed- awesome payload, and great endurance. How many 2000# JDAMs can you fit on an A-10? Or, for that matter, an F-15E Strike Eagle? Not as many, I can assure you.
XBradTC 
Leave a comment