Direct proof of use
U.S. Air Force imagery from Kabul on September 12, 2017, identifies Afghan munitions airmen mounting a Mark-81 bomb toward an A-29 Super Tucano. The caption states that the crews trained loading procedures while also supporting active combat operations against anti-government forces throughout Afghanistan.
Additional U.S. Air Forces Central imagery from Mazar-e-Sharif on November 18, 2016, identifies Afghan Air Force personnel offloading Mark-81 bombs from an A-29. The caption says the squadron could manage missions from bomb assembly through flying missions with minimal coalition-adviser assistance.
Sources: DVIDS Afghan Airmen Load Mark-81, AFCENT Mazar-e-Sharif Mark-81 Offload
Timeline
By late 2015 and 2016, U.S. advisers were building the Afghan A-29 weapons-loading pipeline in Kabul. A Nellis Air Force Base account of a weapons adviser deployed to Forward Operating Base Oqab says he trained and certified the first A-29 load crew on the Mk-81, Mk-82, GBU-12, and GBU-58, and links that work to the A-29's start of combat operations in Afghanistan.
In 2016 and 2017, official imagery documented Mark-81 bombs with Afghan A-29s at Mazar-e-Sharif and Kabul. A later Department of Defense report to Congress described Afghan A-29 pilots as continuing to achieve high accuracy with unguided bombs after the aircraft added precision-munition capability.
Sources: Nellis Airman Awarded Bronze Star, AFCENT Mazar-e-Sharif Mark-81 Offload, DVIDS Afghan Airmen Load Mark-81, DoD December 2019 Afghanistan Report
Narrative
The documented Mark 81 role in Afghanistan was tied to the Afghan Air Force's A-29 Super Tucano light-attack force during Operation Freedom's Sentinel and NATO's Resolute Support period. The available official record shows the bomb as part of A-29 munitions handling, loading certification, and active combat-support operations rather than as a separately described strike event with a named target.
A U.S. Army acquisition article also shows Mark-81 bombs destined for A-29 light-attack aircraft being inventoried and loaded onto Afghan National Army trucks for delivery to Afghan National Defense and Security Forces bunkers. That source supports the transfer and sustainment path for Afghan A-29 ordnance, while the DVIDS and AFCENT captions place Mark-81 bombs with Afghan A-29 units in the Afghan theater.
The sources do not identify a specific Mark-81 bomb impact, target, or battle damage result. They do directly support Afghan government-side possession, loading, and A-29 operational use context for Mark-81 bombs during the conflict's post-2015 phase.
Sources: USAASC Expanding Horizon, DVIDS Afghan Airmen Load Mark-81, AFCENT Mazar-e-Sharif Mark-81 Offload, DoD December 2019 Afghanistan Report
