U.S. Flies B-52s Over Korea in Show of Power Against North

[TexasTowelie]

Source: Bloomberg News

A U.S. B-52 bomber will fly over the Korean peninsula today for the second time this month as part of the Pentagon’s effort to send a signal to North Korea after it threatened preemptive nuclear strikes.

“Just having the B-52 near the Korean peninsula and pass through means that the U.S. nuclear umbrella can be provided whenever necessary,” South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min Seok told reporters in Seoul, declining to disclose the flight time. The bombers carry air-to-ground missiles with a range of up to 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) and “are believed to deliver nuclear warheads,” he said.

The first B-52 flight came on March 8 as part of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills, Defense Department spokesman George Little said yesterday in a statement, adding such flights “are routine.” Deputy defense secretary Ashton Carter in Seoul yesterday reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to deter North Korea independent of its multi-billion dollar defense budget cuts.

The U.S. is increasing its defense capability against North Korea since the regime this month threatened preemptive nuclear strikes against its enemies in response to tightening United Nations sanctions. Tensions on the peninsula are the highest since at least 2010, and China yesterday criticized U.S. plans to bolster its regional anti-missile shield.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-18/b-52-bomber-flew-over-south-korea-in-training-pentagon-says.html

[TexasTowelie]

1. No, not these people:

[DollarBillHines]

2. Oh, fuck that

52s are a joke.
If Redstone was still around, we could tell some horrific stories.
DBH

[HubertHeaver]

3. The very newest 52 is older than its flight crew.

Or ground crew, for that matter.

[madokie]

7. And you can bet your ass that those planes are as good or better than they were when built

[daybranch]

14. absolutely

We spent a fortune upgrading them for war against a very capable Soviet Union. North Korea knows they face certain destruction in an nuclear or conventional weapon conflict with the US. Assured destruction is a strong inducement to behave.

[formercia]

18. For a while, I lived next to Tinker AFB in OK

I used to see them rebuilding the B-52s there every Day. When they came out, they were as good as new. The planes are stripped to the frame and every part is inspected for flaws and cracks.
The only thing I didn't like were the engine test cells where they ran the engines after being rebuilt. They were very loud.

[madokie]

19. We have a test facility about 2 miles from me here

where they test Jet engines and yes they are loud, very loud. Whether they test new or rebuilt engines I have no idea as it is a very secret facility.

[HubertHeaver]

32. The aircrew does every time they get in.

[Safetykitten]

61. I would fly in one, before flying in a Dreamliner.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

56. Is that "old", like my grandfather's axe?

... the inherited axe had it's blade replaced ten years ago, and the handle was just replaced last year. My grandfather's axe will last forever at this rate.

How many parts on the B52 are original? The frame, maybe?

[Sherman A1]

5. Like everything else

it depends upon how they are used. In the direct attack mode, I believe they would suffer to air defense just as the B29's did in the 1950's. As a standoff platform the story could be very different. That said, I really, really hope cooler heads prevail here and very quickly. A hot war on the peninsula is about the last thing anyone needs.

[daybranch]

11. Did you read

that this B-52 was carrying missiles with over 1800 mile capability. We have a number of planes very very capable of the direct attack mode- the F-15 E is fantastic as both an air to air fighter and an extremely capable air to ground attack aircraft.We still have nuclear armed air launched, sea launched,and ground launched cruise missiles and other missiles designed for attacking the extremely capable Soviet Union. With the advent of near precision stand-off weaponry and numerous countermeasures against surface to air missiles, antiaircraft guns etc, I would think use of the very very capable B-52 Hs in a direct attack mode until air defenses have been neutralized is both unnecessarily risky and just unnecessary.
You also know the F-16 is very good in the ground attack mode and the South Koreans, I believe, have many of those.
In any case this was just a small reminder that destruction of North Korea could be accomplished if it were the intent of the US.

[loli phabay]

24. yup and once you own the air theres nothing like I believe its called arclight

For tearing up massed formations. Saw one in desert storm, mayby was a bit close but was very impressed by the firepower.

[Sherman A1]

37. Did not need to read about the missile range

i was already very much aware of it and the capabilities of the aircraft as well as the others you mentioned along with submarine and surface ship launched cruise missiles and the various stealth aircraft that are available.

My most sincerest hope is that none of the above is necessary.

[daybranch]

13. When Redstone was around? B-52s are a joke.

Do you believe the long range standoff near precision guided munitions are ineffective? The B-52 provides a lot of real estate to carry heavy loads of weapons and the range needed to get them to the theater. I think your information may be dated. Have you heard of JDAMs, ALCM, even SRAM? B-52s are a big truck with plenty of room for weapons and defensive avionics. It has be modified over and over to improve it. I doubt any Nation on earth could afford the B-52 fleet we built at today's prices.
How old is your info?

[Katashi_itto]

15. You have no clue what your talking about.

[gateley]

31. That was my thought -- is that the best we have???

You think with the billions spent on "defense", we'd have something from this century.

[loli phabay]

40. if it works it works, the bayonet is centuries old but still good in rolling up a trench.

[Nihil]

41. Only if the wielder is on some drug or other ...

... and yes, I consider "fake patriotism" as sold by politicians & the hierarchy to be a drug ...

The defenders of a country will fight until their blood is mingled with their native earth.

The attackers of such a sovereign country have to be "inspired" to "do their duty" and such
"inspiration" these days comes out of a film-covered packet or a propaganda channel.
Anyone "inspired" by such pathetic sources is only to be treated with contempt.

If you ever want to consider a frightening fact, consider this: count how many of the "common people"
have been thrown onto the sacrificial fires of pride & greed for the pure & simple reason of greed over
the years, over the centuries.

If you think that times have changed, you have got a BIG awakening in your future ...

[Gore1FL]

42. The B-52 serves a role

Do we need to have "the best we have" to do a fly-over?

[TwilightGardener]

53. They're also pretty visible and recognizable. Big dopey beasts, but

everyone knows what they can do.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

4. How's it feel to be the Empire?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. U.S. Nuclear Umbrella?

wow, I feel safer already

[davidpdx]

8. Haven't heard any today, I did hear some helicopters this week

and I live in South Korea. Given North Korea's recent threats, South Korea has the right to defend itself.

[ladjf]

9. Why in the hell would N. Korea shoot a missle at the U.S.? nt

[truth2power]

23. Absurd isn't it? You know, critical thinking is all about asking the right questions...

And yet, the American people allow themselves to be frightened to death by something that is never going to happen in the real world. But that's the plan, isn't it? Divert attention and ramp up the hate while the Jamie Dimons and their ilk abscond with everything of value in this country.

How pathetic is that?

[ladjf]

48. Faulty logic. I blame commercial, political and religious propaganda for that. nt

[dipsydoodle]

10. In the immortal words of Brick Top - Goody gumdrops.

They're hardly likley to enter N. Korea's airspace so will probably pass unnoticed there.

[daybranch]

12. The North Korean leaders will know

from their copy of the Seoul newspaper. We will not enter N. Korea's airspace unless we plan to attack or just demonstrate relative invulnerability. Believe me, they got the message this time.

You apparently do not recognize the capability of the US Armed Forces. The US has prepared for armed conflict with North Korea for decades.

You may have a low opinion of the decisions regarding use of our armed forces around the world but to deny their lethality is incorrect.

[daleo]

16. But what if some North Korean nukes could reach North America?

Would you be willing to risk San Francisco or Seattle? How much of North Korea would you destroy in exchange? How would the Chinese react? Or the South Koreans?

[davidpdx]

17. The question is "if"

I think at this point HI and AK would be the most vulnerable at this point. We don't know how reliable their technology is. At this point a missile is possible, but I don't think a nuclear missile is.

[daleo]

44. "If" is always the question

That was the question for 40 years during the Cold War.

[tonybgood]

26. It's really quite simple!

You tell the Chinese what Kennedy told the Soviets: Any missile launched from North Korea will be considered an attack by China on the United States requiring a full, military response! Let's see how quick China shuts down the whole damn thing.

[daleo]

45. And maybe China says "right back at you"

I don't know how many nukes China actually has, but I imagine they could do enormous damage in retaliation. They've put plenty of satellites into orbit, even sent probes to the moon. I wouldn't take chances on their missile technology.

[tonybgood]

46. The Russians could have done the same in 1962!!!

They didn't, did they. The point is that China won't want to be held responsible for North Korean actions and will shut down their nuclear program. Besides, whether it's a North Korean nuke or a Chinese nuke isn't the concern. North Korea has made the declaration of preemptive strike, the Chinese haven't. Short of going to war to stop them, I don't see any other way than to get their only ally to stop this.

[daleo]

62. There will be no pre-emptive strike by the North Koreans

And China will do whatever it deems to be in its best interests.

As for 1962 - the world was lucky and we don't want to risk that again.

[madokie]

21. You can bet that boy wonder will be watching very closely

A B52 is a huge plane that makes a lot of noise as it flies by at low altitude. I know I've been under them 40 plus years ago and I doubt any of that has changed

[MindPilot]

29. My dad was stationed at Wright-Pat during the Cuban missile crisis

There were times when there were ao many 52s in the air, they blocked out the sun.

[Earth_First]

20. YAY!

Maybe this weekend we can parade some Armored Personnel Carriers, a few ICBM's and thousands of Infantrymen down Pennsylvania Avenue!!!

USA! USA! USA!

[mpcamb]

22. Seems to me

We do better when we export culture and material than we do with military adventures ( tho the Generals love to bring out the guns). Have we won any wars lately? - hmm, say since WWII?
Well, there was that little Caribbean island thing in Grenada and all the chest-thumping grandeur that went with it. All the others have been financial disasters with no gain otherwise. And huge loss of status.

So, DON"T do the saber rattling: instead send American music, products, food and the other things we still produce to influence them. It worked in East Germany in the 60s, throughout the old Soviet satellite system, in Russia itself and in China. We still have stuff other people want. Keep the generals on a short leash and develop a different strategy.

I know this is simplistic beyond belief, but it has a strong ring of truth and does not involve body-bags from pointless wars.

[LeftInTX]

25. We already sent Dennis Rodman

[mpcamb]

28. Right!

What more could they want?
Actually Dennis is quite a bit safer than military alternatives.

[Kolesar]

33. Har har

I needed a laugh today !

[TwilightGardener]

27. You have to show that you are ready and willing to respond, I guess.

I hope it's a deterrent, for the sake of our troops and the people of S. Korea.

[Ken Burch]

38. You mean we have to get as crazy as 'Lil Kim?

[TwilightGardener]

39. Well, they did cancel the armistice and declare that they will nuke us.

I don't think we're the ones who are being provocative. Just showing that we are paying attention and are ready--we do have a significant number of troops in the region. Hopefully this will prompt China to step up a little more, too.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

30. So, this plane first flew over Korean skies when the North and South

were actively fighting.

It returns 50-60 years later in a show of strength?

insert wry smile here.

[Kolesar]

34. I think America used B-29s or the B-50 version of them

B-52s were a bit later http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=2609

[Sherman A1]

35. It was B29's

and they did not fair too well over North Korea. Technology had changed and the aircraft was simply not up to the task. The B52's came later, after the shooting had stopped.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

47. just in time for when the shooting starts up again.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

50. North Korea is at perfect liberty to not re-start the war.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

52. They always have been. But Boy Wonder is even dumber than daddums,

and the military cold warriors in NK seem to have his ear.

[Ken Burch]

36. Oh yeah...brilliant idea...make a paranoid tyrant even MORE paranoid.

It's things like this that made Hawkeye and Trapper John drink.

[Orsino]

63. Well, there is a point to making him look more ridiculous and isolated.

And unreasonable, when the world acknowledges that these B-52 flights are taking place in another country that he doesn't run.

[Pterodactyl]

43. How do you break up a Nork bingo game? B-52!

[davehall]

49. North Korean Civilians Suffering the Most

The North Korean civilians are the ones suffering the most through all of this. The gulags and prisons are where those considered "dangerous" have been kept. The people have suffered hunger for decades in the North. Hopefully, the dictatorship will fall in the North. A crazy laughable ruler to those outside N. Korea is a real killer to the North Koreans who must try to survive under his rule. Enough is enough. I support our troops in South Korea. But I don't want to see another Korean War. I'm sure soldiers on the ground and civilians in the North and South don't either.

[Deep13]

51. Rock lobster! nt

[TexasTowelie]

54. I also thought about posting this one:

It might be weirdly appropriate considering the news of the network failures in South Korea.

You also got give kudos to Kate for dancing in the high heels.

[Ken Burch]

64. I want to see the DPRK do their own version of the "Love Shack" video.

With 'Lil Kim taking RuPaul's dance break.

[DeSwiss]

55. K&R

- Un'll be PO'd.

[Dan]

57. Well, interesting comments about the B-52,

but anything that flies can be shot down.

The question should be asked - do we want to go to war over an incident due to a Show Of Force?

[TwilightGardener]

58. Well, we're not flying it over THEIR country. And we're not going to stand

down on exercises and other military activities based on their threats--what message would that send?

[Dan]

59. I guess, I just don't see the point

in this 'show of force', ... just to show we can?

why?

What do we have to prove?

[TwilightGardener]

60. The administration is taking this seriously. I'm actually kind of nervous about it--

that big test they did a couple months ago meant something.. not good. They may not have the ability to send an ICBM to us, but our defense dept. admits they are further along than we thought on weapon development. They're upset at tighter sanctions and making a lot of noise and provocative threats, so we answer back with defensive moves instead of just ignoring them, or worse, looking like we're retreating. But I'm hoping there are diplomatic backchannels we are not seeing. We sent our undersecretary of defense to S Korea and Asia this week, I suppose to help send a message of resolve.