The US must continue to publicly deploy and exercise all three legs of the triad because perception of the US strategic deterrent matters as much as its actual health, the head of US Strategic Command said. STRATCOM commander Adm. Cecil Haney, speaking March 11 at an Air Force Association, National Defense Industry Association, and Reserve Officer Association-sponsored symposium in Silverdale, Wash., said allies and adversaries “recognize readiness,” and that includes moves such as last week’s deployment of B-2 bombers to the Pacific, along with practice launching the Air Force’s Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and the Navy’s Trident submarine-launched ballistic missiles. “Strategic capabilities must be, and are, routinely demonstrated,” Haney said.
A-10 Thunderbolt II attack planes in the Middle East are flying with fresh modifications as the Air Force looks to make the plane more versatile amid America’s ongoing blockade of Iranian ports and a tenuous ceasefire in the U.S. air war against Iran.