B-1B can hold any target in the region, U.S. Air Force says

The B-1B bombers, which are also known as the “swan of death,” have developed the capabilities to hold any target in Northeast Asia at any time through joint military exercises with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force conducted near the Korean Peninsula at the end of last month, the U.S. Air Force said.

The U.S. Air Force said on Thursday (local time) that it can “hold any target in the region at risk at a time and place of our choosing” regarding the recent development of the B-1Bs.

This implies that the military exercises using the B-1B bombers in the region were intended not only to get accustomed to topography but also to examine the procedures to aim and hit “major targets” in the region, such as North Korea. The Air Force also emphasized that the B-1Bs can deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons, such as joint air-to-surface standoff missiles and long-range anti-ship missiles, at supersonic speeds against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time, reassuring allies and aggressively deterring adversaries in the region.

Meanwhile, two B-1Bs that departed from the Guam base on May 27 crossed the Straits of Korea passing the East China Sea and circled the Japanese Islands with the bombers of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force before returning to the base. During the process, they were as close to the Korean Peninsula as a little over 100 kilometers from Busan. The appearance of U.S. strategic weapons that are most feared by North Korea near the Korean Peninsula three days after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hinted the resumption of nuclear and missile provocations is deemed as a warning of the U.S. against North Korea.

“The U.S. has reminded North Korea of the fact that if the North crosses the ‘red line’ its nuclear and missile bases and leadership would be the first targets of the ‘swan of death,’” said a military source.


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com