An incredible demonstration of American power, technology and determination for our allies and our enemies. No other country on this planet has the ability to project global power like the U.S.
An MQ-9 Predator soars high above the camp, the camera in its sensor ball fixed on the Islamic State fighters below. The foot soldiers are unloading rocket-propelled grenades and artillery shells from the backs of pickup trucks, likely unaware of the American unmanned aircraft overhead. Still, their fear of prying aerial eyes is noticeable as they stretch tarps across vehicles to obscure their shapes from above.
This ISIS encampment is one of several in the desert southwest of the Libyan city of Sirte. Late last year, U.S. warplanes helped local forces drive ISIS from the city. Some of those fighters have regrouped in these camps, others have gathered here from elsewhere. There are more than 100 Islamic State fighters spread across these sites.
It’s mid-January and the presidency is days away from a change in administration. The U.S. ended combat in Sirte a month earlier. Now, ISIS fighters are regrouping in a familiar place when they feel safe from U.S. intervention.
They are mistaken.
Half a world away, “Scorch” climbs into the cockpit of a B-2 stealth bomber.
He’s got a tough job, in some ways tougher than what’s facing the pilots who will fly the actual mission. Scorch needs to prep the airplane for the strike at the Libyan ISIS camps, some 5,700 miles away.
It will take about 32 hours to fly from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri to the target in Libya and then return home. The pilots doing that need all the rest they can get. To trim the mission time, other B-2 pilots like Scorch assist with flight planning, weapons pre-checks, and sometimes even starting the engines.
“Of all the pilots on the base, 75 percent knew about the mission or were part of it,” Scorch tells PM. “The others had no reason to know and had to find out about it like everyone else—from CNN.”