A total of four B-1B Lancer strategic bombers of the United States Air Force (USAF) recently arrived in Japan as part of a new deployment framed in the Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission, as reported by the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command. The aircraft, which are based at Dyess Air Force Base, located in the State of Texas, will probably participate in air exercises and combined training missions in the coming days within the framework of the advanced presence strategy that Washington maintains for the Indo-Pacific.
This is the second occasion so far this year that B-1B Lancer bombers have been deployed to Misawa Air Base, in northern Japan. During the past month of April, an unspecified number of aircraft from the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron operated from that installation for approximately one month, carrying out combined missions with fighters of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, within the framework of a bilateral cooperation program that seeks to strengthen interoperability between both forces. At that time, the objective was “… to support the training efforts of the Pacific Air Forces with allies, partners, and joint forces, as well as strategic deterrence missions to reinforce regional stability in the Indo-Pacific.”
Regarding the confirmation of this new deployment, the U.S. Air Force has not yet issued official details on the duration of the B-1B presence in Japan, nor on the specific activities that will be carried out. Nevertheless, strategic bomber deployments under the BTF scheme usually include in-flight refueling practices, integration exercises with forces of regional allies, and rapid response exercises, demonstrating the capacity of the American aircraft to operate globally and project their deterrence capability globally.
According to reports from Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) Sources, Japan is preparing to carry out an exercise in the coming weeks that will extend from the Sea of Japan to the southern islands near Taiwan. The participation of the United States and Australia is planned in these maneuvers, which reinforces the hypothesis that the arrival of the B-1Bs is part of the logistical and operational preparation of the means and personnel that will form part of this multinational exercise.
Finally, and based on the survey of the presence in other regions of this class of aircraft between mid-2024 and so far in 2025, the United States Air Force has carried out around 48 strategic bomber deployments in different regions of the world. During the past year, 33 missions of this type were carried out, of which 10 were destined for the Indo-Pacific, 10 in Europe, and 10 within the area of responsibility of the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), evidencing the global and sustained nature of the operations of the Air Force Global Strike Command.
*Cover image: credits to whom it may concern.
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