US to deploy F 22 stealth fighters in Afghanistan air raids: officials
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KABUL - A top US commander in Afghanistan has said the Taliban militants have still not felt the full brunt of the air power of the Afghan and US forces.
U.S. Air Force Major General James Hecker, commander of 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan and NATO Air Command-Afghanistan has said “The Taliban still has not felt the full brunt of American and Afghan air power.”
“With the arrival of new air assets and the growing capabilities of Afghan pilots, the Talban will have a constant eye towards the sky as an integrated unified fight is aimed directly to them,” Gen. Hecker quoted in a report by the Resolute Support said.
The report further adds that in a matter of days A-10s will conduct their first strike against the Taliban, continuing the air campaign destroying narcotics production facility. Since November, 30 strikes conducted against Taliban narcotics production facilities resulted more than $20 million in total impact on Taliban revenue.
Under the authorities granted in the South Asia Policy, precision strikes with A-10s will hit the Taliban where they are most vulnerable: their revenue streams and profits from developing and selling illegal narcotics, the report states.
According to the report, the Taliban will face a more aggressive adversary in this air campaign as U.S. Air Force F-22s, F-16s, B-52s, A-10s and MQ-9s, along with support from Navy F-18s, will join in counter-finance operations.
