U.S. Air Force ends continuous B-52H presence in Guam
- 4 years ago
미국, B-52H 전략폭격기 5대 괌에서 뺐다…북미협상 유도?
The U.S. Air Force's strategic bomber that had been based in Guam has been flown back to the mainland United States.
With the move, there's speculation it is a strategy to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea and to negotiate a better South Korea-U.S. defense cost sharing deal.
Hong Yoo reports.
The U.S. Air Force announced late last week that its five B-52 strategic bombers will no longer be stationed at its Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
Multiple South Korean officials familiar with the matter confirmed Sunday that the strategic bombers have been reallocated back to the U.S. mainland.
The U.S. Air Force had maintained a B-52 presence at the Guam base since 2004, with different models rotating to provide a strategic deterrent across the Pacific area of operations.
The B-52s will continue to operate in the Indo-Pacific region, to include Guam, 'at the timing and tempo of their choosing', according to the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command.
It also said the aircraft will be permanently based in the U.S. as the bombers have been modified to operate from a broader array of overseas locations.
Military experts say the move will save the U.S, military a lot of money used for maintenance of the weapon rotation system.
That money could be used to strengthen their marine force to contain the Chinese marine force in the Indo-Pacific.
It could also mean the U.S. is still looking for ways to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea.
Some experts say it was a strategy to win the upper hand in negotiating a new defense cost sharing deal with South Korea.
To this, South Korea's military said the decision had been shared with them and it does not alter the U.S. defense stance over the Korean peninsula.
It added the U.S. had planned the B-52 reallocation a long time ago.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.
The U.S. Air Force's strategic bomber that had been based in Guam has been flown back to the mainland United States.
With the move, there's speculation it is a strategy to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea and to negotiate a better South Korea-U.S. defense cost sharing deal.
Hong Yoo reports.
The U.S. Air Force announced late last week that its five B-52 strategic bombers will no longer be stationed at its Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
Multiple South Korean officials familiar with the matter confirmed Sunday that the strategic bombers have been reallocated back to the U.S. mainland.
The U.S. Air Force had maintained a B-52 presence at the Guam base since 2004, with different models rotating to provide a strategic deterrent across the Pacific area of operations.
The B-52s will continue to operate in the Indo-Pacific region, to include Guam, 'at the timing and tempo of their choosing', according to the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command.
It also said the aircraft will be permanently based in the U.S. as the bombers have been modified to operate from a broader array of overseas locations.
Military experts say the move will save the U.S, military a lot of money used for maintenance of the weapon rotation system.
That money could be used to strengthen their marine force to contain the Chinese marine force in the Indo-Pacific.
It could also mean the U.S. is still looking for ways to resume denuclearization talks with North Korea.
Some experts say it was a strategy to win the upper hand in negotiating a new defense cost sharing deal with South Korea.
To this, South Korea's military said the decision had been shared with them and it does not alter the U.S. defense stance over the Korean peninsula.
It added the U.S. had planned the B-52 reallocation a long time ago.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.