The U.S. Air Force is preparing to deploy bombers to Norway for the first time.
As per reports, B-1Bs accompanied by more than 200 personnel will be arriving in the
country’s Ørland Main Air Station in the coming days.
Initially, an advance group will arrive followed by the full team and the bombers themselves.
The aircraft and airmen assigned to this Bomber Task Force (BTF) will all come from the 7th
Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base in Texas.
Air Force General Jeff Harrigian, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, said
in a statement, “Operational readiness and our ability to
support allies and partners and respond with speed are critical to combined success.
We value the enduring partnership we have with Norway and look forward to future opportunities
to bolster our collective defense.”
It is interesting to note that U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) routinely hosts a variety of
U.S. aircraft, including BTF deployments, but they have been operated out of RAF Fairford
in England, which has been used as the dedicated bomber forward operating base in Europe
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how the U.S is bringing Arctic Warfare Near Russia's
Border with the imminent deployment of B-1B Supersonic Heavy Bombers in Norway?
Let's get into the details.
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The Arctic is getting increasingly important.
As the ice caps melt in the Arctic, it will become economically viable to navigate.
Russia is gearing up to monetize the potentially lucrative Northern Sea Route (NSR) as the
Barents Sea and Arctic thaw faster than anticipated.
In August 2017, the first ship traversed the Northern Sea Route without the use of icebreakers.
The Dutch Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis projected in 2015 that the Northern Sea Route
may be ice-free by 2030 A 2016 report by the Copenhagen Business School
found that large-scale trans-Arctic shipping may become economically viable by 2040.
The Northern Sea Route could make connectivity between Europe and Asia 40% faster, cheaper,
more fuel-efficient, and greener.
Russia will lose land as the ice melt, but it may gain nearly 1.2 m sq km in its continental
shelf which means it will have rights to extract under-sea minerals and energy resources.
So, it's not surprising that the Arctic and the adjacent regions will be in the focus
of different stakeholders.
B1 lancer essentially has 2 variants The B-1A was originally designed during the
1970s as a high-altitude, Mach 2.0-capable nuclear bomber.
However, President Jimmy Carter canceled the program on June 30, 1977, in favor of air-launched
cruise missiles carried onboard the B-52, intercontinental ballistic missiles and what
eventually became the Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber.
This was done after it became apparent that penetrating Soviet airspace at high altitudes
in a conventional non-stealthy aircraft was likely a suicidal endeavor.
President Ronald Reagan eventually revived the Lancer program on Oct. 2, 1981, however,
the new B-1B was optimized for low-level penetration.
Additionally, the aircraft was modified with new engine air intakes and other upgrades
to reduce its radar cross-section.
The resultant B-1B aircraft no longer possessed Mach 2 capability—topping out at roughly
Mach 1.25—but had much better survivability because of the stealthier profile.
The B1B is powered by 4 General Electric F101-GE-102 afterburning turbofan engines.
Each of these can generate 17,390 lbf (77.4 kN) thrust when operating normally and 30,780
lbf (136.9 kN) with afterburner.
These enable B1B to have an excellent range of 5,900 mi or 9,400 km and a service ceiling
of 60,000 ft.
The engine performance makes B-1B capable of hauling a lot of weapons.
B-1B has a massive payload of 125,000 lb (56,700 kg) internal and external ordnance combined.
It has 8 external hardpoints for 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg) of ordnance and 3 internal bomb
bays for 75,000 pounds (34,000 kg) of ordnance.
Depending on mission B1-B can carry a variety of ammunitions like Mk- 84 general-purpose
bombs, CBU-87/89/CBU-97 Cluster Bomb Units, GBU-38 JDAM, AGM-158 Joint Air to Surface
Standoff Missile (JASSM) to name a few.
B1-B has long-range conventional weapons for attacking land and naval targets.
The AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) is a low observable standoff air-launched
cruise missile developed by Lockheed Martin for the United States Armed Forces.
It is a large, stealthy long-range weapon with a 1,000 pound or 454 kg armor-piercing
warhead and it went into service in 2009.
JASSM has a range of about 230 miles or 370 km.
Viewers may note that it was used in combat when two B-1B bombers launched nineteen of
the stealth missiles at a Syrian research center in Barzeh.
Lockheed Martin worked on the missile further and AGM-158C is developed which is an anti-ship
variant and is named LRASM by the U.S Navy.
The missile uses inertial and jam-resistant GPS navigation system for the initial phase
of the journey, a two-way data link is present for mid-course guidance, and a radio-frequency
& Infra-Red sensor is activated in the terminal phase.
The warhead is potent enough to cripple a large warship.
Initially, Russian President Putin had dismissed climate change.
But he has moved away from that line and signed the Paris Accord on climate change.
Mr. Putin is now trying to use it as an advantage.
Russia established a new Northern Fleet Joint Strategic Command in 2014 and is building
up its military presence in the region at a rapid pace to protect its interests.
It now has seven bases along the shipping route, the latest being Northern Clover on
Kotelny Island, deep inside the Arctic.
Russian military aircraft are now more frequently operating from forward-located airfields.
If a conflict breaks out in the Arctic, U.S. airpower could be a decisive factor.
Particularly B-1B's standoff weapons - JASSM & LRASM would come in handy to hold Russian
assets at risk.