The United States recently sent its supersonic bombers to Japan, an American treaty ally in the Western Pacific Ocean, for a pit stop refueling to support “high demand operations.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email. North Korea‘s embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a written request for comment.
Why It Matters
Japan forms a north-south blockade known as the first island chain with Taiwan and the Philippines. It is Washington’s defense concept that seeks to leverage allied and friendly territories in the Western Pacific Ocean to constrain military activities by U.S. adversaries.
Four U.S. B-1B bombers were sent to Guam, east of the first island chain, for the Bomber Task Force 25-1 mission in January. The island is a U.S. military hub for projecting power against both China and North Korea, which are 1,800 and 2,000 miles away, respectively.
What To Know
The pit stop, also known as hot pit refueling, was conducted from February 20 to 27 at Misawa Air Base in Japan’s northern Aomori prefecture during the Bomber Task Force 25-1 mission, involving B-1B bombers assigned to the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron.
A video released by the U.S. Air Force shows how the hot pit refueling was carried out after the bomber landed. Ground crews added fuel to the aircraft with its engines still running, which helped crews stay ready to enable the bomber to quickly take off again.
“The ability to rapidly refuel and resume flight operations is a critical capability [toward] assisting any flying mission sustain response efforts for any incident or threat, with the goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific for all,” the U.S. Pacific Air Forces said on Monday.
The B-1B bomber, also known as Lancer, is capable of flying at Mach 1.2, or over 900 miles per hour. It can be armed with up to 75,000 pounds of bombs and missiles, making it have the largest payload of conventional weapons in the U.S. Air Force inventory.
The four-engine Lancer, which has an intercontinental range of flight with aerial refueling, “can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time,” the U.S. Air Force claimed in a fact sheet.
Two of the Guam-based B-1B bombers trained with American and South Korean fighter jets in South Korea’s airspace on February 20, validating their combined ability to carry out strikes. This marked the first aerial drill of the U.S.-South Korea alliance this year.
What People Are Saying
The U.S. Pacific Air Forces said in a press release on Monday: “The [Bomber Task Force] missions are important to demonstrate U.S. power projection capability, a commitment to regional security by training alongside allies and partnered forces, and providing Pacific Air Forces a potent strategic deterrence effort that reinforces a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.”
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Robert Wasil, commander of the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, said in a press release on Monday: “Proficiency is our priority as we have a duty to provide safe, secure, effective, and ready strategic deterrence when called upon. Deploying to the Indo-Pacific is an opportunity to assess our skillsets, adapt new tactics, and learn new procedures from collaboration efforts.”
What Happens Next
The U.S. Air Force continues to operate its B-1B bombers out of Guam. Released photos show the Bomber Task Force 25-1 mission was conducted over an undisclosed location in the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday to “address a complex and uncertain security environment.”
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