The U.S. military recently highlighted a series of air and artillery strikes against Taliban drug labs in Afghanistan as a visible indicator of America’s new strategy to defeat insurgents and terrorists in the country and elsewhere in the region. At the same time, though, the U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers and other aircraft has been conducting a less publicized and more grueling kind of air war to literally shape the terrain, blasting away mountain passes and potential cover to limit where and how militants can operate. Reporting from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, Aviation Week’s Lara Seligman was the first to get a hint of these operations, noting that Air Force B-52s had flown “terrain denial” missions over Afghanistan loaded with dozens of 500-pound class Mk 82 “dumb bombs.” But in an Email to The War Zone, an U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT) spokesperson explained that this part of the aerial campaign was far more widespread and complex, involving manned and unmanned aircraft and unguided and guided munitions.

“Area denial missions can range from shaping enemy force maneuvers to denying key terrain to the enemy,” the public affairs officer said. “These terrain denial strikes are useful in enabling freedom of maneuver for our forces, elimination of cover and concealment by enemy forces, an [sic; and] affecting enemy pattern of life in such a way that allows us to gain invaluable intelligence on their networks.” In short, the sorties are a deliberate and coordinated effort to strip away actual terrain features – narrow mountainous paths, rock-topped ridgelines, and even buildings and other man-made structures – that militants might use to move without being seen or ambush friendly troops on the ground in the future. It also attempts to funnel the insurgents and terrorists into particular areas or operating habits, which might make them easier to observe, isolate, and neutralize.

USAF B-52s bombers at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar in June 2017.

The Taliban’s use of hard cover has been a long-standing issue for American and other coalition troops in Afghanistan, as well as their Afghan allies. Recently, the U.S. Army and Marine Corps began purchasing hundreds of the Swedish-made Carl Gustav recoilless rifles specifically to give small infantry units more firepower against dug-in enemies. These operations are not new, either, and AFCENT has employed various aircraft in this role. According to the public affairs official, the very first of these missions in support of the U.S. military’s Operation Freedom’s Sentinel and the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission – the names given to the refocused and officially non-combat advisory efforts in Afghanistan in December 2014 – occurred in June 2016 and involved F-16C Viper multi-role fighter jets. Since then, F-16s, B-52s, and even MQ-9 Reaper drones, have flown terrain denial sorties. Though the unguided Mk 82 remains the weapon of choice for this task, aircraft have dropped a variety of laser- and GPS-guided munitions, as well. These include 500-pound class GBU-12/B Paveways, GBU-38/B Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM), and GBU-54/B Laser JDAMs, and 2,000 pound class GBU-31/B JDAMs.

USAF An F-16C loaded with JDAMs at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.