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The US military flew a B-52 over the Korean Peninsula on Dec. 10 in an apparent attempt to gain the upper hand in the confrontation unfolding in the wake of North Korea’s fourth nuclear test just four days earlier.
The strategic bomber’s flight was opened to the press within a period of just 30 seconds. The aircraft approached the runway at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi Province from the east around noon and flew at a low altitude of around 100 meters before quickly vanishing off to the west. As it buzzed the runway with a tremendous roar, the massive bomber was escorted at a distance of around ten meters to its left and right by fighter planes: the South Korean Air Force’s F-15K and the US Air Force’s F-16C. Other F-15K and F-16C aircrafts also flew around 100 meters ahead of the B-52.
The bomber had arrived after taking off at around 6 am from Andersen Air Force Base on the Pacific island of Guam, a route it later retraced just after the display. It passed through the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) south of Jeju Island at around 10:30 am, traveling northward past Busan and Daegu and reaching as far as the East Sea coast in Gangwon Province before turning its nose for the “air show” at Osan and heading back toward the south coast, sources reported.
Jan. 10 B-52 flight over the Korean Peninsula |
In total, it flew over the Korean Peninsula for just over two hours - a relatively short space of time to show off its might, given the roughly 12 hours it took in travel time there and back.
Many military senior officials nonetheless agreed that the mere announcement of the B-52’s flight would be enough to put tremendous pressure on North Korean forces.
“A simultaneous bombing attack by three to four B-52s in an emergency situation on the Korean Peninsula would be capable of leveling a radius of dozens of kilometers,” a military source said. “Pyongyang would be wiped off the map.”
Given its tremendous size, any B-52 that arrived on the peninsula would almost certainly be detected by North Korea’s radar network, sources said - indicating that the flyover on Dec. 10 was meant as an overt warning to North Korea.
First deployed in fighting by the US Air Force in 1955, the B-52 remains the force’s main bomber to this day. Around 80 B-52H aircraft with upgraded digital electronic equipment are now in service, with plans for them to remain in use through 2040.
US Air Force sources declined to comment on what weaponry was on board the aircraft during its flyover. But being equipped with air-to-surface missiles and other nuclear weaponry - along with up to 31 tons of cruise missiles and conventional bombs - the B-52 is capable of neutralizing strategic North Korean military facilities, sources said. Its bunker buster bombs in particular, which can penetrate deep into the ground or thick concrete shelters before exploding, are capable of delivering a strike against leaders operating underground.
The US military previously avoided sending a B-52 even when inter-Korean military tensions were mounting last August after North Korea’s declaration of a “quasi-state of war” in the wake of a concealed mine blast in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that severely injured two South Korean soldiers. Its decision to do so soon after the nuclear test is accordingly being seen as an unusual move.
“This marks the first time the B-52, which is the US military’s leading strategic bomber, has been shown briefly to reporters invited from the local and foreign press,” said a United States Forces Korea source.
Analysts are interpreting the decision to play the B-52 card so quickly as meeting at least two different needs: the strategic military demand to respond preemptively to the possibility of tensions rising on the peninsula, along with the political aim of nipping in the bud recent calls for nuclear armament by South Korea’s ruling party.
Speaking in a press conference at the scene just after the B-52 show, US Seventh Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Terrence O’Shaughnessy emphasized the US’s commitment to providing South Korea with coverage from its nuclear umbrella.
“The United States remains steadfast in its commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea and to maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula, to include extended deterrence provided by our conventional forces and our nuclear umbrella,” he said.
By Park Byong-su, senior staff reporter
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