Two B-2A stealth bombers from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Mo, will temporarily operate from Andersen AFB, Guam, in late January in support of US Pacific Command’s in-theater training objectives, announced Pacific Air Forces officials. “This deployment will provide the opportunity for our airmen to become familiar with operating in the Pacific and exercise the B-2’s ability to employ strategic precision attack capabilities across the globe,” states PACAF’s Jan. 18 release. This is the first time in several years that B-2s will deploy to Andersen. B-2s had been a regular part of the Air Force’s bomber rotations to Guam where the United States has maintained a continual long-range strike presence since 2004. However, the Air Force pulled them from the rotations after the loss of one B-2 in a crash on the island in 2008 and another B-2 incurred severe damage in an engine fire there in 2010. Already on Guam is an expeditionary contingent of airmen and B-52s from Barksdale AFB, La., that deployed to Andersen in October.
The use of a military counter-drone laser on the southwest border this week—which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to abruptly close the airspace over El Paso, Texas—will be a “case study” on the complex web of authorities needed to employ such weapons near civilian areas and the consequences of agencies…
