 
CHANNELS SPACEWAR WIRE MILITARY SPACE UAV NEWS MILITARY COMMS CYBERWARS MISSILE NEWS RAYGUNS TERRORWARS SPACEDAILY TERRADAILY MARSDAILY SPACE TRAVEL SPACEMART SPACE DATABASE  SERVICES |  
The Pentagon is considering rotating long-range bombers through a giant air base in Guam as the US military looks for ways to offset the army's heavy commitment of forces to Iraq, a top air force general said Tuesday. General William Begert, commander of US air forces in the Pacific, said no decisions have been made yet but discussions were underway within the military about the Iraq occupation's impact in a region where North Korea poses a tough military challenge and China is pressing ahead with a military buildup. "We talked about that -- How do you buy down risk when one service is overly subscribed, or in a surge situation?," he told defense reporters here. "Obviously, again, places like Guam become very important. You can move places very quickly if you need to buy down risk, or to deter somebody from taking advantage of a situation," he said. No US air forces are permanently stationed at Guam's Andersen Air Force Base, but in recent years it has been used as a hub for long-range bombers deployed to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as for bombers deployed to deter potential adversaries in the Asia Pacific region. It also has emerged as a leading candidate for basing forces as the US military realigns its forces in the Pacific. "The importance of rotational bombers going in there would be very practical," Begert said. We've talked about the possibility for the future of perhaps a fighter wing, tankers, Global Hawk." "It is an active proposal. We are looking at options. No decisions have been made. But people have talked quite openly, not just me, of the importance of doing that," he said. "The examples I gave are only examples of the kinds of things that we can do." A US territory, Guam lies within 1,500 miles of the Korean peninsula and Taiwan, two potential flashpoints in the region. About 150 B-52 bombers were based at Andersen Air Force Base during the Vietnam War. Over the past decade, the air force has invested heavily to maintain the base. The base has a typhoon-proof hangar that can accommodate B-2 stealth bombers. Construction is expect to being soon on a second typhoon-proof hangar for which 36 million dollars has been appropriated, he said. "The basic structure of the base -- the taxiways, the runways, the fuel systems, the capacity of the base to either absorb airplanes stationed there or airplanes that pass through is really very, very good," Begert said. All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse. Quick Links
|
|
| The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |