The Pentagon backpedaled Thursday after its assistant secretary of defense for the Asia Pacific told Congress that B-1 bombers were headed to Australia.
The B-1 bomber is a sleek, supersonic four-person aircraft that has been integral to the fight in Afghanistan and a regular presence against the Islamic State in airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
On Wednesday, Assistant Defense Secretary for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs David Shear, under a line of questioning at the Senate as to why the U.S. isn’t better positioned to respond to China’s island-building efforts in the South China Sea, said the U.S. is building a long-term robust presence of Marines and Littoral Combat Ships in the region.
Then Shear noted, “we will be placing additional Air Force assets in Australia as well, including B-1 bombers and surveillance aircraft.”
Pentagon reporters pushed on the story to find out that Shear’s testimony was the first time anyone had brought up the idea of sending B-1s to Australia.
On Thursday, Air Forces Pacific Command said in a statement that “the U.S. Department of Defense has routinely deployed bomber assets through Australia in the past, including a B-52 visit last December. With regard to our force posture initiatives in Australia, the Department is currently exploring a range of options for future rotations with our Australian counterparts. The specifics of future force posture cooperation are yet to be finalized.”
If the B-1s do go, they won’t need much in terms of supporting infrastructure, unlike their B-2 counterpart, which requires a fairly sterile hangar environment to operate.
