The U.S. recently deployed three nuclear-capable stealth bombers to the Pacific, Pacific Air Forces public affairs revealed Wednesday evening.
The U.S. Air Force sent around 200 airmen and three B-2 Spirits to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to provide support for the U.S. Pacific Command’s Bomber Assurance and Deterrence mission.
Approximately 200 #Airmen and three #B2 Spirits deployed to @AndersenAFBGuam to support @PacificCommand's Bomber Assurance and Deterrence mission. pic.twitter.com/Qufnu7gXh7
— PACAF (@PACAF) January 11, 2018
The last time three B-2 bombers were deployed to Guam was in 2016; however, one nuclear-capable bomber made a long-range flight from its home base in Missouri to the U.S. territory in October of last year.
The deployment of the bat-shaped bombers comes at a time of de-escalation on the Korean Peninsula, as the North and South have had talks at the border and are looking for ways to reduce rising military tensions.
President Donald Trump maintains that his tough rhetoric and strong stance have created an environment conducive to talks, and the Trump administration has signaled that it intends to maintain its maximum pressure campaign designed to curb the North’s nuclear ambitions.
The Trump administration asserts that diplomatic efforts with the North will be backed by America’s strong military capabilities.
In his New Year’s address, North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un called for the mass production and rapid deployment of nuclear bombs and missiles. The North tested nearly two dozen ballistic missiles last year, including two intercontinental ballistic missiles theoretically able to reach the continental U.S., and detonated a hydrogen bomb which generated an explosive yield estimated to be a few hundred kilotons.
B-2 bombers bring an airborne nuclear strike capability to the region. The U.S. repeatedly sent supersonic B-1B Lancers to the Korean Peninsula last year, but while these bombers carry the largest conventional payload of any Air Force bomber, these impressive planes are no longer nuclear capable.
B-2 bombers can also penetrate deep into enemy territory undetected and drop dozens of conventional munitions on hostile enemy targets.
Source: The Daily Caller
