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U.S. continuous bomber presence displays commitment to regional security

FORUM Staff

The U.S. reveals its commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in many ways. Deterrence and assurance are chief among its actions to do so. The U.S. Air Force maintains constant forward visibility through its continuous bomber presence (CBP).

The continental U.S.- and Guam-based CBP enhances U.S. combat capability by staging a permanent show of force, Maj. Seth Spanier, chief of Bomber Operations in the Pacific Air Forces, explained to FORUM. It includes B-1, B-2 and B-52 aircraft. The B-2 Spirit and B-52 Stratofortress are nuclear-capable craft.

In early January 2016 in response to provocative claims by North Korea, for example, the U.S. Air Force flew a B-52 from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam over Osan Air Base in South Korea, according to theaviationist.com website. A Republic of Korea F-15K Slam Eagle and a U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon also flew past the base.

The low-level flyover demonstrated the U.S. and South Korea’s capabilities to respond to any threat at any time, Gen. Curtis M. Scaparotti, U.S. Forces Korea commander, told the aviationist.com website.

“The B-52 is a very visible symbol of American airpower,” Col. Kristin Goodwin, 2nd Bomb Wing commander, told the Air Force Global Strike Command website. “Our allies and adversaries take note of when, where, and how we employ, making the B-52 an ideal platform for the increasingly dynamic Asia-Pacific Theater.”

B-52s can fly more than 12,800 kilometers without refueling. They provide a persistent, long-range strike capability, Maj. Spanier explained. Forward deployment enhances sortie time and reduces stress on maintenance crews and resources.

Moreover, the U.S. Air Force continues to expand its CBP in the region. In November 2015, the U.S. agreed to conduct bomber and tanker rotations through Australia’s Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases in Tindal and Darwin.

“The idea is much like what we do in Guam — rotation of tankers and bombers to do training and working with Australian allies … as well as training our pilots and aircrew — to help them understand the vastness of that region,” Gen. Lori Robinson, Pacific Air Forces commander, said at a Washington, D.C., meeting, according to the janes.com website. “Our ability to project power through the theater would be one of the capabilities that we would want to have because … that shows a commitment to the theater,” said Gen. Robinson, janes.com reported.

Military officials from the U.S. and Australia are still working out the specifics of the rotations. A U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52 Stratofortress participated in Australia’s Pitch Black 2014, an air exercise the RAAF has hosted every two years for the past 20 years, according to the Australian Department of Defense.

Every year in Guam, Andersen Air Force Base hosts the annual two-week joint and multilateral exercise known as Cope North and the biennial Exercise Valiant Shield, an air, land and sea exercise that lasts nine days. According to the U.S. Pacific Command website, Cope North 15 included more than 2,340 participants, with B-52 crews and military personnel from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines and South Korea, as well as observers from Vietnam and Singapore.

So-called bomber diplomacy has been part of the Air Force’s mission since its early days and will continue, Maj. Andrew Marshall, a B-52 radar navigator, told Air Force Magazine in August 2015. “Think about it. When you say, ‘I can hold anybody at bay, that I represent … America, and we’re here for our friends’ — we’ve done that since World War I, and we’ll continue to do that.”

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