Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, Air Force Global Strike Command boss, doesn’t think the new Air Force-Navy Air-Sea Battle concept will have a big impact on how the Air Force employs its B-2 stealth bombers. “Our focus on B-2, obviously, is on its ability to penetrate heavily defended areas. And so I think we would want to use a B-2 where its particular skill set, its particular capabilities, provided you the most leverage,” stated Klotz during a meeting with reporters in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. He was responding to the question whether Air-Sea Battle would mean that the B-2s take on a maritime role. B-52 bombers have long been capable of anti-ship and mine-laying operations and B-2s do deploy to Guam from time to time as part of their non-nuclear duties to support US forces in the water-rich Pacific area of responsibility.
Multiple U.S. Air Force F-15 fighters have deployed to the strategic outpost of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean to protect the myriad of assets deployed there, including strategic bombers.