B-1B Bones Make Unprecedented Bomber Task Force Deployment To Japan
U.S. long-range bombers haven’t been stationed in Japan for any extended period since the Vietnam War.
Thomas Newdick
Published Apr 17, 2025 6:53 PM EDT
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, arriving at Misawa on April 15, immediately after flying 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.
Air Force bombers in Japan are not an entirely new phenomenon, although they have never previously been there as part of a Bomber Task Force deployment.
https://www.twz.com/air/b-1b-bones-make-unprecedented-bomber-task-force-deployment-to-japan
