B-1B Bomber Brandishes A Belly Full Of Stealth Cruise Missiles While Deployed To Guam
The messaging is abundantly clear: U.S. bombers haven't tucked-tail and run from the region, and they stand ready to deliver a big, stealthy punch.
By Tyler RogowayMay 10, 2020
The War Zone
7th Bomb Wing displays readiness with Bomber Task Force deployment
Pacific Air Forces Public Affair—Public Domain
Tyler Rogoway
The "Bone" is back on the island of Guam and it brought with it the ability to deliver up to two dozen stealthy AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs)—the conventionally-armed bomber's weapon of choice during the opening stages of a major conflict—to America's warfighting capabilities in the Pacific. It's now abundantly clear that the Pentagon wants to make sure that friend and foe alike are aware of that fact based on the pictures the service just posted.
The photos show one of the B-1Bs currently calling Guam home having one of its three cavernous weapons bays stuffed with live JASSMs. The images showcase the fact that the B-1B can put even a peer state's most defended targets at risk from a standoff distance. The JASSM has a declared range of around 230 miles, while its enhanced successor, the JASSM-ER, can reach out and touch targets nearly 600 miles from its point of launch. The B-1B itself has an intercontinental range.
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33387/b-1b-bomber-brandishes-a-belly-full-of-stealth-cruise-missiles-while-deployed-to-guam
