The Air Force is preparing to send six B-52 bombers and build supportive facilities for the aircraft in northern Australia amid heightened tensions with China, according to a report.
The United States will create a “squadron operations facility” for the use and storage of the planes during Australia’s dry season, which will include a maintenance center and a parking area for the six nuclear-capable planes. The facilities will be constructed on the Tindal air base, approximately 190 miles south of Darwin, the capital of Australia’s Northern Territory.
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“The ability to deploy US Air Force bombers to Australia sends a strong message to adversaries about our ability to project lethal air power,” the Air Force said in a report to Four Corners ABC.
The bombers are part of a larger upgrade to U.S. defense capabilities in Australia, including an expansion on the Pine Gap intelligence base that would play an important role in potential conflicts with China should it attack Taiwan. B-52s have played important roles in previous Air Force operations and can deliver long-range strikes of nuclear and conventional missiles.
Experts predict that China will attack Taiwan between 2025 and 2027, according to the report.
China condemned the U.S.’s plans to expand its presence in Australia Monday, claiming that the report could trigger an arms race and warned the actions could undermine peace and stability in the region.
“The relevant practices of the U.S. side have increased tensions in the region, seriously undermined regional peace and stability, and may trigger an arms race in the region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said, according to Reuters. “China urges the parties concerned to abandon the old Cold War zero-sum mentality and narrow geopolitical concepts, and do more to contribute to regional peace and stability and to enhance mutual trust.”
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The new planes and facilities are an extension of preexisting military collaborations between the U.S. and Australia. Thousands of U.S. Marines currently rotate through Australia annually for training and joint exercises that were started under President Barack Obama.
The U.S., the United Kingdom, and Australia also created a security deal that provided the technology to create nuclear-capable submarines to Australia last year. Four B-52s were additionally stationed at Andersen Air Force base in Guam earlier this year.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the Air Force for comment.
