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COURTESY U.S. AIR FORCE
A B-2 Spirit bomber deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, lands at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii on Jan. 10. Three B-2 bombers and more than 200 Airmen deployed here in support of U.S. Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM) bomber task force mission.
Pacific Air Forces announced today that three B-2 Spirit stealth bombers and more than 200 Airmen from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, arrived Thursday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Bomber aircraft regularly rotate through the Indo-Pacific region, according to Pacific Air Forces, and are here in support of U.S. Strategic Command’s (USSTRATCOM) Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission.
“This training is crucial to maintaining our regional interoperability,” said Lt. Col. Joshua Dorr, 393rd Bomb Squadron director of operation, in a news release. “It affords us the opportunity to work with our allies in joint exercises and validates our always-ready global strike capability.”
It is the second time the Spirit has deployed to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in support of the BTF mission. The Spirit has trained multiple times at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.
During the first deployment in August 2018, the bomber flew multiple, local and long-duration sorties, conducted hot pit refueling exercises, and flew with the Hawaii Air National Guard 199th Fighter Squadron’s, F-22 Raptors.
The Northrop Grumman B-2s have “stealth” characteristics in the form of reduced infrared, acoustic and radar signatures, which give them the ability to penetrate an enemy’s most sophisticated defenses.
“Deploying to Hawaii enables us to showcase to a large American and international audience that the B-2 is on watch 24 hours a day, seven days a week ready to protect our country and its allies,” Dorr said in the news release.
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