I did not know that a B-52 has never landed a ROK airbase before:
A U.S. strategic bomber B-52 is set to land in a South Korean air base this week, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Monday, in the latest show of force against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threat.
It would mark the first time that the B-52 Stratofortress has landed at a South Korean air base although the long-range bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons flew over the Korean Peninsula for joint drills between South Korea and the United States.
The B-52 is one of the major U.S. strategic bombers along with the B-2 Spirit and B-1B Lancer, which landed at Osan Air base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, in September 2016.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link.
Here is the latest show of force towards North Korea:
The United States flew nuclear-capable bombers to the Korean Peninsula on Friday in its latest show of force against North Korea, days after the North staged massive anti-U.S. rallies in its capital.
The long-range B-52 bombers took part in joint aerial drills with other U.S. and South Korean fighter jets over the peninsula, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement. The bombers’ flyover is the latest in a series of temporary U.S. deployments of strategic assets in South Korea in response to North Korea’s push to expand its nuclear arsenal.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link.
This is a pretty typical play from the US playbook in response to North Korean military provocations:
The United States’ B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber flew in the skies of South Korea on Sunday in a major show of force four days after North Korea conducted what it said was its first hydrogen bomb test.
The B-52 bomber left U.S. Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Sunday morning and arrived in the skies above Osan, Gyeonggi Province, at noon, armed with nuclear missiles and “bunker buster” bombs that are capable of bombarding North Korea’s underground facilities, according to Seoul and Washington.
The bomber flew low past the Osan air base, flanked by an entourage of two South Korean F-15Ks and two U.S. F-16s before returning to its home base, the two sides’ militaries said. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link.
The B-52 and B-2 bombers are the weapons "Kim Jong Un fears the most." https://t.co/o5eDexgrgD
— Elizabeth Shim (@GlobalAsianista) January 7, 2016
Did China Try Restricting US Bombers in the South China Sea? https://t.co/ErACSvWcs6 pic.twitter.com/MdJVu15Y36
— The Diplomat (@Diplomat_APAC) November 14, 2015
This just goes to show how important B-52’s based out of Guam are to supporting deterrence on the Korean peninsula:
The U.S. Pacific forces commander requested that an additional six B-52 bombers remain on Guam in August when military tensions were running high on the Korean Peninsula, according to a U.S. military commander.
Gen. Robin Rand, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command, revealed the request during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday, explaining the roles the U.S. strategic bombers play in defending the country and its allies.
“Most recently, in North Korea, when there was a flareup back in August, we had our six B-52s that have been on a continuous bomber presence at Guam for the last decade nonstop, and we are in the middle of a swapout. Six were going in to replace the six that were there,” Rand said.
“And the PACOM commander immediately contacted the Joint Staff and Air Force Global Strike and said, ‘Could we leave those six additional B-52s longer? We really like the presence,'” he said, referring to Pacific Command commander Adm. Harry Harris.
Rand did not say whether the request was accepted and the additional six bombers had remained there.
In another example, the general also said that in 2013, B-52s and B-2s flew nonstop to South Korea and dropped training ordnance on a bombing range as a show of force against North Korea when the communist nation ratcheted up tensions with near-daily threats of war against the South and the U.S. [Yonhap]
