US Sends B-1B Bombers to south Korea Amid north Korean Threats

The United States on Tuesday sent two nuclear-capable supersonic bombers streaking over ally South Korea in a show of force, the US Forces Korea commander (USFK) said.

The supersonic bombers left US Andersen Air Force Base in Guam on Tuesday morning and arrived over the skies above the Osan Air Base, south of Seoul, at 10:00 am, S Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

They flew past the US air base in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, accompanied by a flight of four South Korean F-15K and four U.S. F-16 fighter jets. The flybys highlight the close cooperation between the U.S. and South Korean military forces that keeps them ready to respond at any time to threats, the USFK said. 

The B-1B Lancer is a four-engine supersonic variable sweep wing, strategic bomber with a max speed of Mach 2.0 and is capable of flying very close to the ground to avoid detection as it closes in on its target. It first went into operation in the U.S. Air Force in the 1980s and can carry conventional guided bombs, such as the GBU-38 and the GBU-54.

Source : QNA