Two B-1B Bombers Hold Live-Fire Drills Over Korean Peninsula, Show Off US “Attack Capabilities”
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
Jul 8, 2017
The US sent two B-1B Lancer strategic bombers from Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base base to the Korean Peninsula, to practice “attack capabilities” with South Korean jet fighters and hold live-fire drills on Saturday, Yonhap News reported, the latest show of force by the US military after North Korea’s first-ever ICBM test launch on July 4. The pair of US bombers flew conducted a simulated destruction of an enemy ballistic missile launcher and underground facilities, the South’s air force said, sending a strong hint to its northern neighbor.
The joint exercise included US F-16 fighters jets as well as fighter planes from the South Korean and Japanese air forces, and came a day after Trump said in Warsaw on Thursday that he was considering “some pretty severe things” in response to North Korea’s latest actions
Friday’s flyover followed a joint missile-defense drill by the US and South Korean armies on Korea’s east coast Wednesday, and as the US Pacific Air Forces said in a statement late on Friday, the 10-hour flight drill was conducted “in response to a series of increasingly escalatory actions by North Korea.”
The US message was clear enough: “North Korea’s actions are a threat to our allies, partners and homeland,” Gen. Terrence O’ Shaughnessy, Pacific Air Forces commander, said in a statement. “Let me be clear, if called upon we are trained, equipped and ready to unleash the full lethal capability of our allied air forces.”
Some more details on the drill from the WSJ and Reuters: during the drill, two B-1B bombers flew from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to the Korean Peninsula where the bombers conducted the live-fire exercise at a range in South Korea’s eastern Gangwon province, dropping weapons in a simulated attack on a missile launcher. They were joined by South Korean and U.S. F-16 jet fighters during the mission: South Korean and U.S. fighter jets conducted precision strike drills aimed at attacking enemy targets hidden underground.
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