The US Air Force has deployed B-1 bombers in Norway. This is the first time for the United States, and it is a move that represents a clear message to Moscow, according to CNN, that the US military will operate in the Arctic region, considering it strategically important, and it will defend allies in the region from any Russian. Aggression near the country’s borders.
Citing multiple defense officials, CNN reports that four US Air Force B-1 bombers and approximately 200 Dyess Air Force personnel in Texas will be transferred to Orlando Air Force Base in Norway, and these missions will begin in the next three weeks. In the Arctic circle and in international airspace off northwest Russia.
CNN quoted officials as saying that the “move” means that the United States will be able to respond more quickly to potential Russian aggression. In recent months, the Pentagon has used B-1-like bombers, B-52s, in the Middle East as a way to demonstrate the US ability to rapidly move military assets to potentially tense areas. Officials said these are missions that take weeks to plan, which means the deployment to Norway has been underway for some time.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Defense has received with great concern Russian military moves aimed at blocking potential access to the North Pole. Barbara Barrett, secretary of the Air Force during the Trump administration, has warned that “recent Russian investments in the Arctic include a network of attack aircraft and coastal missile systems.” Barrett said the United States estimates that Russia sees maintaining its Arctic reach increasingly vital, with nearly 25 percent of its GDP coming from hydrocarbons north of the Arctic Circle. Last month, a Russian fighter jet flew over the US Navy destroyer USS Donald Cook in the international waters of the Black Sea.
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