Three B-2 bombers deployed from Whiteman AFB, Mo., to Andersen AFB, Guam, on Aug. 6. The Spirit bombers will fly sorties from the island as part of “familiarization training activities” in the Western Pacific, Pacific Air Forces officials announced in a statement. The deployment “demonstrates continuing US commitment to regular, global, strategic bomber operations throughout the Asia-Pacific region,” PACAF declared. Some 220 airmen are deploying with the bombers from Whiteman, and will maintain and support bomber operations from Guam as part of US Pacific Command’s extended deterrence operations and long-range strike capability. This short-term deployment is the first Air Force Global Strike Command B-2 deployment to Guam since January 2012, AFGSC spokesman Charles Ramey told Air Force Magazine. B-2s and B-52s also deployed to RAF Fairford, England, earlier this summer.
The Department of the Air Force has identified 50 programs that will make up the core of its contribution to the Pentagon’s joint all-domain command and control effort, branding them part of the “DAF Battle Network,” according to newly-released budget documents. The DAF Battle Network programs span multiple offices and agencies…