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On October 25th, US B-1B Lancer non-nuclear bombers landed at the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Air Force Global Strike Command posted videos of the warplanes taking off from Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, which is the home of the 28th Bomb Wing and the tweets also said that they had landed in the Kingdom.
#B1 Lancers, long-range strategic #bombers, take-off from Ellsworth as they prepare to fly to PSAB, Saudia Arabia, in @CENTCOM's AOR. This showcases the bomber’s ability to fly intercontinental missions & the @usairforce's dedication supporting allies & deterring adversaries 24/7 pic.twitter.com/CSYbSYpQ7v
— AFGSC (@AFGlobalStrike) October 25, 2019
LONG DISTANCE DELIVERY | B-1B Lancers land @ Prince Sultan AB Saudia Arabia after flying directly from Ellsworth AFB SD. The B-1B is a long-range strategic bomber able to strike any adversary at any location on the globe. This demonstrates PSAB’s ability to conduct combat ops. pic.twitter.com/7EbU7Rk02M
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) October 25, 2019
There’s been no confirmation of how many B-1B Lancer bombers were sent to the Kingdom and how long they would remain there.
This is the first time ever the US Air Force deploys bombers to Saudi Arabia, but not the first time such warplanes were in the Middle East. From 2018 until March 2019 a separate contingent of B1s was deployed at Al Udeid Air Force Base in Qatar, the planes had some technical issues and were withdrawn.
In August 2019, then-head of U.S. Strategic Command Gen. John Hyten, revealed that just six of 62 B-1Bs were fully mission capable. The US had sent bombers back to Al Udeid in May 2019, but in the form of four B-52s to counter alleged threats from Iran.
The B-1Bs bombers represent a standing threat to Iran, or any other regional opponents, offering the ability to launch stand-off cruise missile strikes from multiple vectors.
From the Saudi Air base, these bombers could also conduct patrols in and around the Persian Gulf, including to observe Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ maritime movements that allegedly present risks to American or other allied naval vessels or commercial shipping.
Naturally, these warplanes could’ve been deployed to Al Udeid, but the specific deployment to Saudi Arabia is more than likely a way to reinforce the commitment to the Kingdom’s defense, as the Patriot missile defense batteries failed to protect Aramco’s oil infrastructure on September 14th.
This deployment is also in line with an announcement by the US Department of Defense that a full Air Expeditionary Wing would be established in the Kingdom, earlier in October 2019. This announcement sets out a potential more robust and long-term presence in Saudi Arabia that would also oversee US units that could potentially be quickly deployed to the Middle East in case of a potential conflict.
This was part of a larger US military deployment that came in response to the above-mentioned attack on Saudi oil infrastructure, that both Riyadh and Washington blamed on Iran.
The most recent official announcement about American forces heading to the region on October 11th, 2019, did not mention bombers at all.
The official release from the Pentagon said that the following was being deployed to Saudi Arabia to bolster its defenses against alleged Iranian aggression.
“At the request of U.S. Central Command, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper authorized the deployment of additional U.S. forces and the following equipment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
- Two Fighter Squadrons
- One Air Expeditionary Wing (AEW)
- Two Patriot Batteries
- One Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD)
Secretary Esper informed Saudi Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Muhammad bin Salman this morning of the additional troop deployment to assure and enhance the defense of Saudi Arabia.
Taken together with other deployments this constitutes an additional 3,000 forces that have been extended or authorized within the last month.
Since May, the Department of Defense has increased the number of forces by approximately 14,000 to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility as an investment into regional security.
As we have stated, the United States does not seek conflict with the Iranian regime, but we will retain a robust military capability in the region that is ready to respond to any crisis and will defend U.S. forces and interest in the region.”
It is likely that the US was planning to boost its presence in Saudi Arabia, as it is its biggest customer and good customer service is, of course, important. The alleged “Iranian aggression” is an effective justification for any such undertakings.
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my guess is that pentagon do these things behind the back of trump, who they know would prefer to have the entire foreign based army/navy/airforce closer to home and it’s quite certain that thrump has no intentions of going to war against Iran. the only way that would occur is if israel manages to set it off in such way that the unhinged states of A is implicated and that can be done with collusion of pentagon and/or cia.¨ but it is well known that cia can undertake anything to achieve the results it’s aiming for. like world trade center – collusion mossad/cia to start the middle east wars, now on the 20th years.
They have Trump right where they want him…impeachment enquiry and if need be the military industrial complex has enough power in the senate to get Trump impeached. Right now I think the USA is slowly getting out of Turkey and will rebuild their air force base at Prince Sultan base in Saudi Arabia where they can continue to protect the petro dollar… I agree there will not be a war with Iran.
and that is why trump has to be slow in reclaiming the powers the commander in chief is supposed to have (and which have been given by previous presidents to pentagon, cia, and such like organisations) since his ambition is to be the uncontested commander in chief whose orders can’t be countermanded or ignored by the various government officials, as we have seen lately. where the left hand doesn’t know what the right does but rest assured, trump is intent in bringing the powers back to the white house and the president.
impeachment – need some kind of tangible stuff to present but so far just a lot of talk and very little of substance. so it’s a dud and dead issue from a reality point of view.
Here is an article that looks at the sources of Saudi Arabia’s weapons and how much the Saudi royal family spends on its military:
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/2019/09/saudi-arabia-military-expenditures-and.html
One has to wonder how the sales of American arms has affected the balance of power in the Middle East, particularly when these arms are being sold to a nation with a poor human rights record.
Im sure politicians get a “commission” out of those sales. Saudi-spoilt-brats love to buy people up. To me Trump for sure got a 10% cut on all arms deal to SA.
American arms are shit, have you seen how shit the patriot is? Or the f-35? Trump dosnt care, as long as he can milk the Saudis for whatever they’re worth, and then brag to americans how good of a president he is making all this money that God knows what it’s spent on
If those B1-B gets too close to Iran, it will meet the same fate as the spy drone that got downed. Also, Trump has shown that the US military is a mercenary force, that can be rented out like a prostitute. SA has records of dismembering journalists at their embassies, starving millions in Yemen, and yet, the US/mercenary force is protecting those corrupt penguins-camel-pee-drinkers.
Penguins :-)) At first I thought ?? but when you think about it they do look like penguins. Still laughing , thanks and from henceforth they shall be referred to as “Penguins”
100% correct
Tu-160 bomber is much sexier and more powerful
Tu-160 in Cuba and Venezuela, plus nuclear missiles and several battalions of S-400 – this is what Russia shall do in order to deter the terror state of America