Direct proof of use
Official U.S. military releases document B-1B Lancer combat use in Afghanistan across the war. A Defense Department photo caption identifies a U.S. Air Force B-1B taking off on October 7, 2001, for a strike mission against al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban military installations in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom.
Air Force and Marine Corps reporting also documents later combat use. On October 23, 2001, an Air Force photo caption described a B-1B from the 28th Air Expeditionary Wing at Diego Garcia taking off for a combat mission supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. In May 2004, a Marine Corps report from Oruzgan province said a B-1B supported 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit troops in contact and dropped two 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs on a mountaintop used by Taliban fighters.
The post-2015 Afghanistan phase is documented by U.S. Air Forces Central reporting. AFCENT said a 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron B-1B returned to the AFCENT area of operations in April 2018 to support Operations Inherent Resolve and Freedom's Sentinel, then reported that a 34th EBS B-1B bombed Taliban narcotics production and storage facilities in Afghanistan on May 18, 2018.
Sources: Defense Department B-1B October 2001 Strike Mission, Air Force B-1B Operation Enduring Freedom Combat Mission, Marine Corps B-1B Supports 22nd MEU, AFCENT B-1 Joins ISIS Taliban Fight, AFCENT B-1B Taliban Drug Facilities Strike
Timeline
The earliest public official evidence places the B-1B in the opening air campaign on October 7, 2001. Later that month, Air Force reporting tied B-1 aircraft to the bomber contribution over Afghanistan and said B-2, B-52, and B-1 aircraft had delivered more than 80 percent of the tonnage dropped on combat missions there.
The B-1B also appeared in tactical close-air-support reporting after the initial campaign. The Marine Corps report from May 31, 2004, described the aircraft first as a show-of-force presence near Forward Operating Base Ripley, then as an available bomber used after Marines called for air support during fighting with anti-coalition militia.
In 2018, the B-1B returned to the AFCENT area after a two-year Pacific assignment. AFCENT framed the May 18, 2018, Afghanistan mission as part of a wider air campaign against Taliban narcotics production and storage, while a Defense Department account of the preceding November 2017 campaign explained that U.S. and Afghan forces were using new authorities to strike Taliban drug labs, storage, and command-and-control targets.
Sources: Defense Department B-1B October 2001 Strike Mission, Air Force B-1B Operation Enduring Freedom Combat Mission, Marine Corps B-1B Supports 22nd MEU, AFCENT B-1 Joins ISIS Taliban Fight, AFCENT B-1B Taliban Drug Facilities Strike, Defense Department Taliban Drug Labs Campaign
Operational role
The documented role was long-range conventional strike, with tactical close-air-support and interdiction applications. In the 2001 opening phase, B-1B missions struck al-Qaeda and Taliban targets from outside Afghanistan, including training camps, military installations, ground forces, command-and-control facilities, airfields, aircraft, radar, and infrastructure described in official captions.
By 2004, the Marine Corps account showed the B-1B being used as an on-call strike platform for U.S. ground forces, dropping large laser-guided bombs during a firefight in Oruzgan province. In 2018, AFCENT reporting tied the B-1B to Operation Freedom's Sentinel and to attacks on Taliban narcotics facilities intended to reduce insurgent funding and support Afghan security-force operations.
The public sources identify U.S. Air Force crews as the operators and place the aircraft on the United States, NATO, and Afghan government forces side of the conflict. They support specific examples of use but do not provide a complete sortie count or identify every munition used by the B-1B in Afghanistan.
Sources: Defense Department B-1B October 2001 Strike Mission, Air Force B-1B Operation Enduring Freedom Combat Mission, Marine Corps B-1B Supports 22nd MEU, AFCENT B-1B Taliban Drug Facilities Strike, Defense Department Taliban Drug Labs Campaign
