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US Air Force pulls bombers from Guam
Analysis by
Brad Lendon, CNN
Updated 0021 GMT (0821 HKT) April 25, 2020
A US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit fly over Guam after launching from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, for an integrated bomber operation Aug.17, 2016.
Hong Kong (CNN)For the first time in 16 years, the United States Air Force has no heavy bombers on Guam.
When five B-52s Stratofortresses left Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island on April 17, it brought an end to the
Continuous Bomber Presence (CBP), a mission once touted by the Pentagon as a key piece of deterrence to potential adversaries and reassurance to allies in Asia and the Western Pacific.
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Under the CBP, B-52s, B-1s and
B-2 stealth bombers were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in six-month rotations, putting the teeth of US strategic airpower within several hours flying time of Pacific flashpoints like North Korea and the South China Sea.
Now, US Strategic Command says the bombers can be more effective when flying from their home bases in the continental United States. They can still deploy when needed to the Pacific, the argument goes, but from the US mainland they can respond more quickly to other potential hotspots like the Persian Gulf.
"The United States has transitioned to an approach that enables strategic bombers to operate forward in the Indo-Pacific region from a broader array of overseas locations, when required, and with greater operational resilience, while these bombers are permanently based in the United States," Maj. Kate Atanasoff, US Strategic Command spokesperson, said in a statement.
The move is in line with the Pentagon's
2018 National Defense Strategy, which calls for US forces to be "operationally unpredictable."g7