While the Pentagon vacillates on acquiring a new bomber, Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam) and Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) are trying to focus attention on the issue by establishing a new bipartisan Congressional Caucus on the Long Range Strike Bomber. The new group will be “dedicated to maintaining and strengthening” the bomber force and “educating other members” on the need for a new generation of bombers “as an intrinsic part of the national defense apparatus,” they wrote in an Oct. 26 letter registering the caucus. Guam hosts Andersen Air Force Base, a major bomber hub in the Pacific. And Fleming’s district in Louisiana includes Barksdale Air Force Base, home to a B-52 wing and 8th Air Force, which oversees the nuclear-capable bomber force. Bordallo and Fleming are now beginning to reach out to other House members to join the group, Fleming spokesperson Amy Jones told the Daily Report Tuesday.
The U.S., South Korea, and Japan flew an unusual trilateral flight with two U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers escorted by two Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-2s, and two ROK Air Force KF-16 fighters—both countries’ respective variants of the F-16—July 11. That same weekend, the top military officers of the three nations…