Today's D Brief: B-52s near Iran; Biden, Putin talk; Smarter small drone; Lone wolves; And a bit more.
January 27, 2021
U.S. B-52s just flew near Iran for the sixth time since late November, and for the first time since President Joe Biden took office one week ago, Defense One’s Katie Bo Williams reports from Qatar.
The two B-52s left from the 2nd Bomb Wing's home at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, flew across Jordan and Saudi Arabia, then dipped into the Persian Gulf itself near Qatar before returning home. They were joined at various points by Jordanian and Saudi fighter jets, as well as U.S. fighters from the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.
The timing of the mission wasn’t linked to any particular incident or threat, a U.S. defense official told Williams; but it “was determined based on the value of deterrence after inauguration.†These kinds of missions are pre-planned weeks in advance, Williams reports; but this one “comes amid a series of back-to-back explosions in Riyadh, at least one of which appears to have been an intercepted attack on the Saudi palace.â€
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2021/01/the-d-brief-january-27-2021/171666/
