The B-2 bomber is “an excellent platform to strike an enemy’s navy before it can put out to sea,” said Lt. Col. Todd Copeland, director of operations for the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, noting the bomber’s stealth, precision, and heavy payload capability. The unit’s bombers were fresh off a practice run against US Navy ships in Hawaii, reports TSgt. Steven Wilson. The B-2s deployed from Whiteman AFB, Mo. to Andersen AFB, Guam to fill the current strategic presence rotation in the Pacific and had just completed the latest Koa Lightning training run, flying from Guam to Hawaii and back. Col. Damian McCarthy, head of Andersen’s 36th Operations Group, said that most people think of the Air Force’s “stealth bomber taking out strategic, land-based objectives, but our airmen can put ordnance over anything, including enemy naval assets when required.”
The Air Force is spending heavily on F-22 improvements through the end of the decade, suggesting it may not retire the jet in 2030 as it previously planned. New sensors, fuel tanks, communications, and electronic warfare systems are among the upgrades that comprise the package.