B-52 Bomber Task Force Kicks Off in Guam as Pacific Exercises Rev Up

The Air Force kicked off a bomber task force deployment to Guam coinciding with a large-scale USAF exercise in the region that is intended to reinforce deterrence against China.

B-52H Stratofortress bombers deployed to Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, from their home at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees the nation’s bomber force, announced July 9. 

The bombers are operating as the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron while deployed and are assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing. The deployment is occurring during the Resolute Forces Pacific, or REFORPAC, exercise, which is scheduled to involve approximately 300 aircraft.

“This deployment is in support of Pacific Air Forces’ training efforts with Allies, partners, and joint forces and strategic deterrence missions to reinforce the rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region,” AFGSC said in a news release.

The command stated there were “multiple” B-52s deployed, but did not indicate how many bombers were part of the BTF. At least two B-52s flew to Guam, according to open-source flight tracking data.

For 16 years, the Air Force maintained a continuous bomber presence on Guam. That ended in 2020 when the service opted to rely on bomber task forces deploying from the U.S. instead to various locations around the world. But Guam remains a regular spot for U.S. bombers.

The Pentagon has not previewed the specific missions the B-52s are scheduled to conduct during their BTF deployment, which have generally been billed as unpredictable and flexible training events. However, AFGSC offered heavy hints that the bombers will likely be participating in one of the multiple exercises occurring in the Pacific this summer.

“This deployment includes support for regional Joint events,” the command stated.

The B-52s on Guam are not the only BUFFs deployed to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command region. There are also four B-52s deployed on the island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, where they have been stationed since May after taking over for B-2 Spirits that conducted airstrikes against the Houthis in Yemen until the U.S. reached a ceasefire with the group.