Latest news with #TheIntelFrog
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
B-52s Join B-2s On Diego Garcia, 10 Bombers Now At Indian Ocean Outpost
Satellite imagery indicates there are now 10 U.S. heavy bombers – six stealthy B-2s and four B-52s – on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. A key question now is whether the arrival of the B-52s, which occurred this week, will lead to the B-2s departing the highly strategic British island territory. Since they first deployed to Diego Garcia in March, the B-2s have been used in strikes against Houthi militants in Yemen, with which U.S. authorities recently concluded a ceasefire deal, and their presence has also been a huge show of force aimed at Iran. A low-resolution satellite image taken today, seen in the social media post below, appears to show the six B-2s and four B-52s. An array of other large aircraft, which could include KC-135 tankers, as well as C-5 and C-17 airlifters, are also visible. KC-135s arrived at Diego Garcia along with the B-2 in March, and C-17s have also been key to supporting that deployment. 10 US Air Force strategic bombers are at Diego Garcia as of to be seen is whether the B-2s will return to the States or stay for a while longer. — TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) May 8, 2025 Satellite imagery had already emerged yesterday that looked to show a pair of B-52s having touched down on the Indian Ocean island. This all also aligns with online flight tracking data that began emerging earlier in the week, which had pointed to the deployment of two separate pairs of B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to Diego Garcia. NSF Diego Garcia For those that have been watching, not surprised to see 2x B-52 bombers at Diego Garcia along with 6x KC-135, 6x B-2 bombers, 1x C-5 Galaxy and 1x unknownCaveats apply given resolutionSrc : @esa7 May, 2025 — MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) May 7, 2025 #WAKE11 flt, a second pair of Barksdale B-52H heading to Diego Garcia, working San Francisco Radio HF 13288. — EISNspotter (@EISNspotter) May 6, 2025 While testifying before members of the House Armed Services Committee yesterday, U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Andrew Gebara, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration, did say 'there's a Bomber Task Force of B-52s going on as we speak,' but did not name Diego Garcia or provide any additional details. The Air Force uses the term Bomber Task Force (BTF) to refer to irregular deployments of bombers to forward locations around the world, as you can read more about here. The last known B-52 BTF deployment, which saw four of the bombers head to RAF Fairford in the United Kingdom from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, wrapped up in March. In response to questions about the B-52 deployment and whether the B-2s will now depart Diego Garcia, a U.S. defense official told TWZ that 'we have nothing to provide.' Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) 'routinely conducts global operations in coordination with other combatant commands, services, and participating U.S. government agencies to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat strategic attacks against the United States and its allies. To preserve operational security, we do not discuss details about exercises or operations,' the command, which oversees the vast majority of America's B-52s and other bomber fleets, also told Air & Space Forces Magazine in a statement. Sending six B-2s to Diego Garcia in March was already a major show of force. This represents roughly a third of the 19 of these stealth bombers currently in operational Air Force service. Only a portion of the B-2 fleet is actually available for mission taskings at any one time, too. The B-2s are the Air Force's preeminent aircraft for prosecuting penetrating nuclear or conventional direct strikes deep inside heavily defended enemy territory. The stealth bombers also offer a unique conventional strike capability against deeply buried and otherwise hardened targets through their ability to drop 30,000-pound-class GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) precision-guided bunker buster bombs. B-2s, each of which can carry a pair of MOPs on a single sortie, are the only aircraft currently certified to employ these weapons operationally. In April, U.S. officials told TWZ that, despite reports at the time, B-2s flying from Diego Garcia had not dropped MOPs on Houthi targets in Yemen. Since March, B-2s forward-deployed to the Indian Ocean island have conducted strikes targeting the Iranian-backed Yemeni militants using other still unspecified munitions. B-2s flying from their main operating base in Missouri had also struck the Houthis last October with a still unknown mix of weapons. Questions have emerged previously about the utility of employing B-2s, which are very expensive to operate and maintain, against a non-state group like the Houthis. At the same time, the Yemeni militants have demonstrated that they have air defense capabilities that present real threats. This, in turn, may have contributed to the use of stealthy aircraft like the B-2 and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as well as a noted increase in the employment of air-launched stand-off munitions by non-stealthy U.S. aircraft. The Houthis have succeeded in downing an alarming number of U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drones. You can read more about what we know about Houthi air defenses in this recent TWZ feature. | The Houthis show footage from the shootdown of another U.S. Air Force MQ-9 Reaper I'm not mistaken, that would be the 20th MQ-9 downed by the Houthis from Yemen. — Status-6 (Military & Conflict News) (BlueSky too) (@Archer83Able) April 18, 2025 Yemeni Houthis (Ansar-Allah group) claim that they have shot down yet another (26th) US Air Force MQ-9 Reaper drone today (April 22, 2025) in the Al-Hajjah is the 7th Reaper shot this April (22nd in the recent war after Oct 7, 2023). — Mehdi H. (@mhmiranusa) April 22, 2025 As already noted, sending such a large number of B-2s to Diego Garcia had also sent signals well beyond Yemen, particularly to Iran. TWZ had highlighted the strategic messaging factor of employing the stealth bombers after the October 2024 strikes on the Houthis. Diego Garcia was used for years as a launchpad for bomber sorties against targets in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. military has also previously sent B-52s to the Indian Ocean island amid heightened tensions with Iran in the past, though they do not offer the penetrating and GBU-57/B employment capabilities of the B-2. B-52s have dropped MOPs during testing, but are not cleared to do so on operational missions. B-52s can employ a wide range of other munitions, including AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) cruise missiles and smaller precision-guided bunker-buster bombs. It's interesting to note that Gebara also highlighted the value of having a mix of stealth bombers like the B-2s and the incoming replacement B-21 Raiders, and non-stealthy B-52s, at yesterday's hearing before the House Armed Services Committee. The Air Force's B-52 fleet is in the process of being massively upgraded and is expected to continue serving through at least 2050, as you can read more about here. 'The decision to go forward with the B-52 was a decision made several years ago in that we needed a high-low mix of capabilities,' he said. 'So, it would not be cost-effective to the American taxpayer to have all high-end, exquisite things when many missions could be done with the proverbial 'old truck' that's paid for and we just need to do some upgrades to it.' The current massing of the huge force of U.S. heavy bombers on Diego Garcia now does follow the announcement of a ceasefire deal between the U.S. government and the Houthis on May 6, which officials in Oman helped broker. There is already skepticism about whether the agreement will hold, especially given that the Iranian-backed Yemeni militants have pledged to continue their campaign against Israel. The Houthis say they will continue to target Israel until it stops its operations in the Gaza Strip, which first began in response to attacks launched by Palestinian terrorist groups in the enclave on Oct. 7, 2023. Israel, just this week, has conducted its own major airstrikes on Yemen's port of Hodeidah and the international airport in the country's capital Sanaa. Breaking: Israel just obliterated Hodeidah port, the largest port of Yemeni Houthis, with 50 massive bombs — Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) May 5, 2025 Some of the first footage from tonight's unilateral strikes by the Israeli Air Force against Hodeidah in Houthi-controlled Western Yemen, which is reported to have heavily targeted a cement factory on the outskirts of the city as well as the Port of Hodeidah. — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 5, 2025 The IDF published images of Houthi targets struck at Sanaa airport. — Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) May 8, 2025 The U.S. government is also currently engaged in negotiations with Iran, primarily over the latter country's nuclear ambitions. In recent months, President Donald Trump and other American officials have threatened direct action against Iran should those talks fall through, as well as over Tehran's continued support of regional proxies like the Houthis. 'I would much prefer a strong, verified deal where we actually blow them up … or just de-nuke them,' Trump said just yesterday during an interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt. 'There are only two alternatives there, blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously.' Trump on Iran talks:"I would much prefer a strong, verified deal where we actually blow them up — blow them up or just de-nuke them. "There are only two alternatives there: blow them up nicely or blow them up viciously." — Jacob N. Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) May 8, 2025 'Message to IRAN: We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis,' U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also notably wrote in a post on X on April 30. 'We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing.' Message to IRAN:We see your LETHAL support to The Houthis. We know exactly what you are doing. You know very well what the U.S. Military is capable of — and you were warned. You will pay the CONSEQUENCE at the time and place of our choosing. — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (@SecDef) May 1, 2025 There are reports that Hegseth's comments were among the factors that prompted Iran to pressure the Houthis into the ceasefire deal with the United States. Swapping out the B-2s for the B-52s on Diego Garcia could align with the current focus on diplomatic efforts, while still retaining additional heavy airpower assets for use in future operations targeting the Houthis or Iran. B-2s can and do perform non-stop global power strike missions from the United States, as was demonstrated in the strikes on Yemen last year, and the bombers could still take part in future operations in the region if called upon. Other factors, including the cost of sustaining a deployment of six B-2s on the Indian Ocean island, could also contribute to a decision to send the B-2s back to their home base following the arrival of the B-52s. The B-2 fleet has unique maintenance requirements, and some of the stealth bombers now at Diego Garcia could require work that cannot be performed at this kind of forward location. There is the possibility, though it seems less likely, that a combined force of B-2 and B-52 bombers will remain in place at Diego Garcia for the foreseeable future. Doing so could help step up pressure on Iran and its regional proxies like the Houthis. At the same time, the satellite imagery in hand now of the increasingly tightly packed conditions at the airfield on the island does underscore the limited infrastructure there, especially when it comes to enclosed shelters. The initial deployment of the B-2s in March had already highlighted the lack of shelters at Diego Garcia. This, in turn, had further fueled a heated debate over whether the U.S. military should be investing more in hardened aircraft shelters and other fortified infrastructure at key facilities globally, particularly airbases across the Indo-Pacific region, amid the possibility of a future high-end fight with China. Part of why Diego Garcia is so strategic is that its remote physical location has historically helped reduce vulnerability to attack, especially from smaller countries like Iran. However, the array of potential threats to the island, particularly from missiles and drones, continues to grow. You can read more about the hardened infrastructure debate and how it applies to Diego Garcia specifically in this past TWZ feature. For the moment, at least, 10 U.S. heavy bombers do look to be arrayed at the Indian Ocean outpost. Howard Altman contributed to this story. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
B-1B Bones Make Unprecedented Bomber Task Force Deployment To Japan
For the first time, U.S. Air Force B-1B bombers are in Japan for a Bomber Task Force rotation. The deployment to Misawa Air Base comes at a time when the Air Force has six B-2 stealth bombers stationed in Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, for a significant bomber presence across the Indo-Pacific region. You can read more about the B-2 rotation in this previous story. The B-1Bs, from the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrived at Misawa on April 15, immediately after having flown a training mission alongside fighters from the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). The 'Bones' flew over the western part of the Korean peninsula, including Osan Air Base, accompanied by U.S. Air Force F-16s and ROKAF F-35s and F-16s. Initially, two B-1s arrived at Misawa, but more examples may soon join them. Two Dyess B-1s over Osan AB, South Korea , April 15th. Likely to be LOFT11 & 12 caught by TheIntelFrog in his post below [USAF Vid] — Saint1 (@Saint1Mil) April 15, 2025 Air Force bombers in Japan is not an entirely new phenomenon, although they have never previously been there as part of a Bomber Task Force deployment. In February of this year, B-1s taking part in a Bomber Task Force deployment to Guam landed at Misawa for 'hot-pit' refueling. The method of 'hot pitting' involves keeping the engines running while the aircraft is refueled by ground crews. Sometimes the crews are also switched out. The tactic is useful for increasing sortie rates as well as rapidly refueling, rearming and swapping out a new crew in combat aircraft to get them back in the fight faster. Shutting aircraft down also invites the possibilities of critical equipment failures upon startup. So, for especially complex aircraft, keeping them running and all systems operating allows for better assurance that the asset will stay in play. In April of 2024, a B-52H touched down at Yokota Air Base in Japan, although in that case it was an unscheduled emergency landing. As for the Bomber Task Force concept, the Air Force introduced this in 2018 to replace the previous continuous rotational deployments of bombers overseas. Involving typically only small numbers of aircraft, Bomber Task Force deployments are of varying lengths, extending from a few weeks up to several months in some cases. These deployments provide theater familiarization for aircrews and aircraft integration opportunities with Allies and partners in different parts of the world. Overall, they represent what the Air Force says is a more unpredictable and flexible approach to pushing strategic airpower forward. Bomber Task Force deployments now take place in Europe and in the Indo-Pacific theater. In the latter region, these rotations have been made to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam; Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia; and Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean these forward locations, missions have been flown over and around critical hot spots and in exercises with allies. 'BTF 25-2 showcases the U.S. commitment to deterring threats and maintaining regional stability,' explained Lt. Col. Christopher Travelstead, director of operations for the squadron now deployed at Misawa. 'These missions in the Indo-Pacific ensure our B-1 crews are highly trained and ready to respond anytime, anywhere, to defend U.S. interests and support our allies, securing a stable Indo-Pacific — where all nations operate freely under a rules-based order while promoting global peace and prosperity.' Misawa, which is already home to permanently based U.S. Air Force F-16CJs, comes under the Pacific Air Forces area of responsibility (AOR). From here, the Air Force is expected to project power across 100 million square miles — covering this vast area is a much easier task with long-range bombers like the B-1. From Misawa, Air Force assets could find themselves tasked on missions directed toward North Korea or Russia, although the relative proximity to the hotly contested South China Sea or Taiwan Strait is of particular relevance. This is part of a broader Pentagon plan to deter China. This plan, known as the Pacific Deterrence Initiative, or PDI, calls for the establishment of forward-deployed long-range strike capabilities, like the B-1, but also encompasses ground-based cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles. In particular, the U.S. military is seeking to establish more survivable, precision-strike networks along the so-called First Island Chain. The term First Island Chain refers to an area of the Pacific inside a boundary formed by the first line of archipelagos out from mainland East Asia. This broad zone includes the hotly contested South China Sea, as well as the highly strategic Taiwan Strait. Pushing the B-1s into position on the First Island Chain would allow them to react faster to contingencies in the region, but it also makes them more vulnerable to attack on the ground should a major fight erupt. Strategic planning in the Pacific also often takes into account needs within a region defined by a Second Island Chain, the boundary of which stretches between Japan and eastern Indonesia and includes the U.S. territory of Guam. From Misawa in the north of Japan, the long-range B-1s also have access to the Second Island Chain, including as a place to retreat to in a crisis. The B-1 also brings a notably potent maritime capability, which is of considerable importance in this region. In particular, the bombers can now be armed with many stealthy AGM-158C Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles, or LRASMs. The introduction of this weapon is part of a tilt toward employing these bombers against maritime threats as they enter the twilight of their career, but with a heavy emphasis on operations during a potential crisis in the Pacific. Time will tell how long the B-1s remain at Misawa and what kind of missions they fly, and where. It's clear, however, that the first-time deployment has been calculated to very deliberately demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security of the Indo-Pacific region and its allies in the region. Contact the author: thomas@
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Tankers Flood Airspace Off The California Coast For China-Focused Air Combat Exercise
At least 20 U.S. Air Force tanker aircraft, 10 KC-46s and an equal number of KC-135s, supported the first day of the latest Bamboo Eagle exercise off the California Coast, according to online flight tracking data. The first Bamboo Eagle occurred last year, as you can learn more about in this past TWZ feature. The large force exercise series has quickly become one of the most important for the U.S. military, as well as key allies, and has a clear eye on preparing for a future coalition fight in the Pacific with China. The U.S. Air Force announced the start of Bamboo Eagle 25-1 yesterday. Like all previous iterations, the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC) at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada has been leading the exercise, but units spread across many other bases, predominantly in California, are also participating. U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy units are known to be taking part, but other branches have also been included in past iterations of Bamboo Eagle. Britain's Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have also returned and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has joined the exercise for the first time. As already noted, online flight tracking data showed a large force of KC-46 and KC-135 tankers supporting day one of Bamboo Eagle 25-1. At least one RAF Voyager, the British name for the Airbus A330 Multi-Role Transport Aircraft (MRTT), was also tracked in the area. Another "Wow" moment. We have a significant capability being demonstrated tonight with a 2nd round of sorties launched in support of Bamboo Eagle 25-1. First round participants launched earlier today from Travis AFB in California and included at least 20 tankers. A number of… — MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) February 11, 2025 Exercise BAMBOO EAGLE 25-1 has kicked off in earnest off the coast of Southern California. Several aircraft are taking part, including a UK Royal Air Force MRTT as COPPER57. Not shown are the multitude of fighter aircraft. — TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) February 10, 2025 I was able to capture some tankers for Bamboo Eagle 25-1 early in the morning before it got cloudy.1. Silver15 57-1468 KC-135R2. Silver10 63-8019 KC-135R3. Brass74 16-46022 KC-46A4. Brass 71 21-46092 KC-46A — José (@WR_Spotter_Guy) February 11, 2025 At least a dozen tankers have also been tracked now supporting the second day of Bamboo Eagle 25-1. Morning BAMBOO EAGLE 25-1 sorties are underway off the coast of Baja, California. No less than a dozen tankers are positioning to refuel dozens of fighter aircraft for the exercise. — TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) February 11, 2025 U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry and RAAF E-7A Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft were also present yesterday. It's interesting to note here that the U.S. Air Force, the RAF, and NATO are in the process of acquiring Wedgetails to succeed their Sentry fleets. An Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft was also spotted likely supporting Bamboo Eagle 25-1 yesterday. However, Rivet Joints have been recently tracked flying over the Pacific off southern California, as well as elsewhere in the southwestern United States, as part of a surge of U.S. military support to border security operations opposite Mexico. Not visible in the online flight tracking data from yesterday or today are the huge numbers of tactical jets that the tankers and other supporting aircraft were working with. In its announcement about the start of Bamboo Eagle 25-1, the Air Force included pictures of Air Force F-35A and RAF Typhoon FGR4 fighters, as well as Navy EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, taking part in Red Flag 25-1 at Nellis. Red Flag is the U.S. Air Force's premier air combat exercise series and recent iterations have been increasingly focused on operations in the Pacific. This in turn has put new emphasis on the range complexes off the coast of southern California, which offer larger areas in which to train on physically broader and otherwise more complex scenarios, and do so over water. Red Flag is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and the RAF and RAAF, among other key allies, are often participants. Other aircraft, including Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, as well as RAAF Growlers, took part in Red Flag 25-1, which flowed directly into Bamboo Eagle 25-1. 'This is the largest number of aircraft we've deployed for an exercise at Nellis (AFB) since we first attended Red Flag in 1980,' RAAF Group Captain Stewart Seeney said in a statement yesterday. 'These exercises provide a realistic training environment where we can integrate different capabilities and develop our ability to work with key allies and partners. For many of our aviators, deploying on these exercises is a career highlight and is not an experience that can be easily replicated elsewhere.' F-35As from Hill Air Force Base in Utah are also notably operating from Naval Air Station North Island in California as part of the exercise. The Navy facility has been used as a staging point in past iterations of Bamboo Eagle. Air Force units using it for this purpose also have the opportunity to train around still-evolving rapid deployment and related concepts of operations, currently referred to collectively as Agile Combat Employment (ACE), which the service has been working on for years now. ACE has been and continues to be a central focus for Bamboo Eagle exercises, in general. 'We have had the luxury of operating from safe haven bases for many decades, and modern threats have fundamentally changed that reality,' Air Force Maj. Gen. Christopher Niemi, head of USAFWC also said in a statement. 'Bamboo Eagle is a big part of helping us figure out how to manage those threats, and training together with our allies improves our ability to face those threats as a unified team.' Other branches of the U.S. military, especially the U.S. Marine Corps, have been developing similar concepts of operations all centered heavily on ways to quickly deploy and redeploy forces throughout forward areas to upend enemy targeting cycles. Concerns about access to established bases, especially in the context of a potential future high-end fight in the Pacific, have been particular drivers of these efforts. There are growing calls for the U.S. military to do more to physically harden bases in the Pacific, along with other defensive improvements, which you can read more about here. The prospect of a major conflict with China in the Pacific, where bases on the ground may be few and far between, has also been contributing to concerns about overall aerial refueling capacity, as well as the vulnerability of existing tankers. What has been seen from Bamboo Eagle 25-1 already underscores the critical importance of aerial refueling, especially for supporting shorter-legged tactical jets. The Air Force is in the process of refining requirements for new stealth tankers and has also been exploring more novel options for increasing aerial refueling capacity. The Navy and Marine Corps, which have the added planning consideration of expeditionary aviation operations from carriers and other big deck ships, are also acutely aware of the issues at play. The Navy is planning to add MQ-25 Stingray drone tankers to its carrier air wings in the coming years and there is also interest in new options for extending the ranges of existing tactical jets. Private contractors, which can provide aerial refueling support for non-combat missions and help free up organic U.S. military tankers in the process, are another steadily growing part of the equation. There is significant uncertainty around future defense spending plans under President Donald Trump's new administration, especially when it comes to Air Force modernization priorities like stealth tankers and other next-generation aircraft that were already facing affordability concerns. Bamboo Eagle 25-1 also comes ahead of Air Force plans to stage a massive air combat exercise across reperetantive operating areas in the Pacific this summer, which you can read more about here. Dubbed REFORPAC, the exercise is expected to last some two weeks, days of which will be spent just getting forces to and from operating locations, underscoring the basic geographical challenges the region presents. At least some units taking part in REFORPAC are expected to go almost straight from that exercise into another iteration of Bamboo Eagle, as well. Bamboo Eagle exercises themselves only look set to continue expanding in scale and scope as important parts of broader preparations for a future major Pacific fight. Contact the author: joe@
