Tag: B1-B bomber

This probably did not impress the Kim regime too much considering this response has been done before:

A U.S. B-1B Lancer strategic bomber joined a South Korea-U.S. joint air drill Saturday, one day after North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea, military officials said. 

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the supersonic bomber made a sortie over South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) escorted by South Korea’s F-35A jets and U.S. F-16 fighters. 

On Friday, North Korea fired a Hwasong-17 ICBM, which is known to carry multiple warheads and have a range of around 15,000 kilometers, long enough to cover the entire U.S. mainland. 

“Through this drill, we have once again demonstrated the joint military capacity of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and Washington’s commitment to protecting the Korean Peninsula and providing extended deterrence,” the JCS said.

Yonhap

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A B-1B Lancer strategic bomber, two F-35A and two F-35B stealth jets of the U.S., and two F-16K and two F-15K fighters of South Korea fly in formation over the Korean Peninsula in this year’s annual joint Korea-U.S. air force drill, Vigilant Ace, on Dec. 6, 2017, in this photo provided by the air force. The exercise against North Korean provocations is the biggest in its history. (Yonhap)

It is interesting that this announcement is coming from the North Koreans and not from USFK:

North Korea claimed Tuesday that U.S. B-1B strategic bombers made flights over the Korean Peninsula early this week in an exercise on dropping nuclear bombs, saying that Washington is to blame for rising tensions.

The United States carried out a military provocation Monday by flying B-1B bombers over Korea less than one day after Seoul and Washington wrapped up their joint military drills at the end of last month, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The allies completed their two-month joint exercises on April 30, with U.S. strategic assets taking part in the training, such as the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, F-35 stealth fighter jets and B-1B bombers.

“The B-1Bs from Guam sneakily flew over sky above the East Sea (on Monday) and joined cooperative operations with strategic striking means, including the aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine,” the KCNA said in an English report.

It is not confirmed whether the North’s claim is true as South Korea and the U.S. have not unveiled relevant information.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link.