On the night of February 27, 1991, a tense silence settled over the war-torn skies above Baghdad. Mere hours before the impending ceasefire, two General Dynamics F-111F aircraft laden with mighty GBU-28 bombs embarked on a dangerous mission toward a target on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital.
Their destination was the al-Taji Airbase, approximately 15 miles northwest of Baghdad. The airbase had already endured the wrath of previous strikes, as F-117 Nighthawks had unleashed their GBU-27/B bombs, leaving a trail of destruction and "digging up the rose garden," as some accounts described it.
The first F-111F approached the target site. However, with the weight of their mission upon the crew, they released the bomb, only to realize it had fallen off-target.
It all depended on the second F-111F now.