Summary and Key Points: Three B-2 Spirit bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, returned to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to participate in Valiant Shield 24, marking the first B-2 deployment to Guam since 2019.
-The B-2s, accompanied by Marine Corps F-35Bs, joined a show of force exercise involving multiple U.S. Air Force aircraft and international partners.
-The deployment follows a grounding of B-2s due to a 2022 incident. Andersen AFB, along with RAF Fairford and Diego Garcia, remains a crucial base for supporting B-2 operations.
-The future B-21 Raider will likely continue using these strategic locations.
Three United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers returned to Andersen Air Force Base (AFB), Guam, earlier this month to take part in the recently concluded Valiant Shield 24. The B-2s were deployed from Whiteman AFB, Missouri, and flew to the U.S. territory, escorted by United States Marine Corps F-35Bs.
According to TheAviationist, the three B-2s departed Whiteman on June 12 with the callsigns REARM 71, 72, and 73. Only two of the Spirits took part in the biennial exercise, which included all six services and international partners.
It also marked the first B-2 Spirit deployment to Guam since 2019, during a refueling stop as a part of a Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission, Air & Space Forces Magazine reported.
The B-2s had been grounded for the first half of last year following an incident involving one of the flying-wing bombers at Whiteman in December 2022. As a result, Spirit deployments had been limited in 2023, but the bombers did fly to Europe during the second half of the year. B-2s were last in the Indo-Pacific during a June 2022 deployment to Australia as part of another BTF mission.
Valiant Shield 24 – A True Show of Force
In addition to the B-2s, the U.S. Air Force also deployed F-22 Raptors from Joint Base Langely-Eustis, Virginia, and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska; F-16 Fighters from Misawa Air Base, Japan; B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota; C-17s from Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey; and C-130Js from Dyess AFB, Texas.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) posted images on X – the social media platform formerly known as Twitter – of the B-1B arriving in Guam as part of the BTF deployment.
"The speed, flexibility, and readiness of our strategic bombers plays a critical role in our ability to deter potential adversaries and signal our unwavering support to our allies and partners. Counter-maritime missions provide valuable training opportunities to improve our interoperability and demonstrate that our forces are capable of operating anywhere, anytime, to meet any challenge decisively," the USMC announced in a statement and shared video of the B-2s as they arrived in Guam, escorted by the F-35s.
Along with Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford in the UK, and the UK's overseas territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, Andersen AFB is one of only three strategically positioned based outside the continental United States that can fully support the B-2, TheAviationist also reported. Both Andersen and Fairford are equipped with climate-controlled hangers similar to those at the Spirit's home base in Missouri. The facilities are necessary to preserve the stealth coating on the aircraft.
It has been reported that the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, which will replace the B-2 and B-1 bombers in the coming decade, is outfitted with an improved stealth coating that is more resilient. That could allow the Raider to be more flexible in future deployments, but it is likely the hangers at Andersen and Fairford will still be used for the B-21.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
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