B-1 Bombers and Troops Are Heading to Guam (China Is The Reason Why)

[Boats]

B-1 Bombers and Troops Are Heading to Guam (China Is The Reason Why)
By: Peter Suciu - The National Interest News - 05-05-20
Re: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/bu...son-why-150871

Photo link: https://nationalinterest.org/sites/d...?itok=9luG69kB

And that's not all: Since the departure of the B-52s bombers from Guam on April 17, the Air Force has made its B-1s quite visible in the region and that has included missions that were flown from bases in the continental U.S. That included a 32-hour flight from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to the South China Sea and back last week, while earlier in April two B-1s were sent from South Dakota on a 30-hour round trip flight to Japan, where the bombers were joined by U.S. F-16s along with Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) F-15 and F-2 fighters in a joint training exercise.

Video link: On site I couldn't pull it down.

Last month the United States Air Force conducted an "elephant walk" of its military aircraft on Guam to highlight America's significant military presence in the region before sending its five B-52H bombers back to their home station at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. That had reportedly brought an end to the Continuous Bomber Presence Mission, which had seen a rotation of B-52, B-1B "Bone" supersonic bombers and B-2A Spirits for half-year stints on the island, which is located about 1,800 miles east of China.

The program was nixed in favor of "less predictable" global deployment, and what was likely not predicted was that the U.S. military would quickly deploy four B-1B Lancers heavy bombers and hundreds of troops to the western Pacific territory to carry out a "deterrence mission" aimed at Beijing.

The U.S. Strategic Command announced that the B-1B Lancers were deployed to conduct bomber task force operations out of Andersen Air Base, Guam. The four bombers and approximately 200 Airmen from the 9th Bomb Squadron, 7th Bomb Wing, Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, were deployed to support Pacific Air Forces' training efforts with allies, partners and joint forces. The bombers will conduct strategic deterrence missions to reinforce the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.

"Deployments like this allow our Airmen to enhance the readiness and training necessary to respond to any potential crisis or challenge across the globe," said Col. Ed. Sumangil, 7th BW commander. "It also provides a valuable opportunity to better integrate with our allies and partners through joint and combined operations and exercises."

Since the departure of the B-52s bombers from Guam on April 17, the Air Force has made its B-1s quite visible in the region and that has included missions that were flown from bases in the continental U.S. That included a 32-hour flight from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to the South China Sea and back last week, while earlier in April two B-1s were sent from South Dakota on a 30-hour round trip flight to Japan, where the bombers were joined by U.S. F-16s along with Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) F-15 and F-2 fighters in a joint training exercise.

"The B-1 is able to carry a larger payload of Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles and a larger payload of 2,000-pound class Joint Direct Attack Munitions," said Lt. Col. Frank, Welton, Pacific Air Forces' (PACAF's) chief of operations force management. "Additionally, the B-1 is able to carry the LRASM (Long Range Anti-Surface Missiles), giving it an advanced stand-off, counter-ship capability. It also has an advanced self-protection suite and is able to transit at supersonic speeds to enhance offensive and defensive capabilities."

B-1s were last deployed to the region in 2017 when bombers from the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron supported missions from Andersen AFB; and conducted multiple sequenced bilateral missions with the Republic of Korea Air Force and the JASDF.

"Our wing has conducted, and participated in, a variety of exercises over the last year to ensure we are primed for large-scale missions such as this one," said Sumangil. "We're excited to be back in Guam and proud to continue to be part of the ready bomber force prepared to defend America and its allies against any threat."

The Air Force has not specified how long the bombers will remain in Guam, but that is likely in an effort to remain less predictable.

About this writer: Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers and websites. He is the author of several books on military headgear including A Gallery of Military Headdress, which is available on Amazon.com.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question: Why is the media making this notification so public! or is it Trump moving the B1's (per consultation with the AF) and why is it so public? Is he trying to pressure China into making the first move because of the virus? Or is this notification a diversion - from Virus issues currently underway here in the states and the rest of the world? Why rattle the cage when we have a pandemic underway that needs our full attention. This will only aggravate tensions more-so world-wide at this time. Telling them where and what we are doing could result in a premature first strike by the enemy. Major publications about such military movements used to be Top-Secret?

Man its been awhile since I was in but major military movements like these were always Top-Secret. It could be misconstrued to mean an attack was is in the making - and they could counter this by them making the 1st move. Doesn't make sense unless he's attempting to divert the virus issues and have them make the first move?

I hate speculation but after reading this publication it seems very odd to make it so visible.

Boats