[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Will US Bombers Be Deployed to Guam?

US-ROK Joint Exercise Enters Phase 2... Conducted Alongside Mobility Training
Unprecedented Possibility of Bomber Deployment for Three Consecutive Months

South Korean and U.S. military authorities will enter the second phase of the joint exercise ‘Ulchi Freedom Shield’ (UFS) starting on the 28th. The second phase of the exercise is the period when the South Korean forces, having been attacked, launch a full-scale counterattack, and since actual maneuver training is also planned, there are expectations that U.S. strategic assets may join as well.

According to the military on that day, following the crisis management exercise (CMX) held from the 16th to the 18th as a preliminary drill, the first phase of the exercise conducted from the 21st to the 25th was integrated with the government exercise (Ulchi Exercise) to assess the capability to conduct total national defense.

The second phase of the exercise, which will be held for four days until the 31st, will be conducted solely by the military. In particular, during this training period, more than 30 various joint outdoor maneuver exercises, including joint integrated firepower training and Air Force Ssangmae (Twin Hawk) training, are scheduled. The number of joint outdoor maneuver exercises during the UFS period has significantly increased from 13 last year. It has also increased compared to the 25 exercises conducted during the FS (Freedom Shield) and WS (Warrior Shield) exercises in the first half of this year.

With the increase in maneuver training, the possibility of deployment of U.S. strategic assets such as B-1B strategic bombers is also considered high. Notably, the U.S. Pacific Air Forces have unusually forward-deployed long-range strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons in Guam for three consecutive months. The deployment of the B-52 strategic bomber, considered one of the three major U.S. nuclear forces, to Guam has been carried out for three consecutive months following June and July.

The B-52 strategic bomber belonging to the U.S. Pacific Air Forces recently conducted tactical training with two F-15 fighters of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in the Pacific. There are expectations that it may be deployed in the South Korea-U.S. joint exercise. The B-52H can carry up to 31 tons of bombs, including air-to-ground nuclear missiles with a range of 200 km, and can fly over 6,400 km.

Earlier, on July 5, a B-52 from the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana arrived at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Prior to that, on June 14, four B-52s and their operating personnel from an Air Force base in North Dakota were deployed to Andersen Air Force Base in Guam.

Meanwhile, this exercise involves the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps, conducting training from squad-level to brigade-level units, and the U.S. Space Force stationed in South Korea and the U.S. mainland will also participate. Established last year, the U.S. Space Force Korea (SPACEFOR-KOR) provides space planning, space expertise, and space command and control functions to the commander of U.S. Forces Korea, and performs missions related to regional missile warning, satellite positioning system (GPS), and satellite communications.