More US Bomber Task Force Patrols Near China: Massive B-52 Arrives in Indonesia

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) 

The classic, Vietnam-era B-52 a lethal and imposing platform which will can hold critical areas of the Pacific at great risk of long-range cruise missile strikes and high volumes of precision bombing. Its mere presence can be intimating, despite the aircraft’s lack of stealth. Now, the US Air Force will have the option of flying more B-52s over or near contested areas in the Pacific, as the Air Force has been wanting to increase the number and frequency of its Bomber Task Forces in the Pacific for quite some time.  Now, the B-52 will be Indonesia

For the first time in history, a US Air Force B-52 bomber has arrived in Indonesia, a country in the South Pacific about 2,000 miles south of China within strategic reach of the South China Sea, Taiwan and other critical regions in the area.

Singapore is a longstanding US ally and F-35 partner, yet there has been much less involvement between the US and Indonesia, so the arrival of the B-52 improves the US deterrence posture and signifies a step forward in a collaborative relationship between Indonesia and the US.

In an immediate sense, the arrival of the B-52s in Indonesia is a symbolic gesture to rival China by demonstrating that the US is further solidifying and strengthening its coalition in the Pacific aimed at containing, challenging and counterbalancing China.

There are several key critical factors to consider with this, as the US Air Force’s upgraded B-52 is quite capable of bomber task force and security patrols throughout the Pacific theater. Indonesia is indeed a strategically advantageous location for the B-52 as it places the South China Sea and mainland China itself within reach of bombing sorties. With a reported range of 8,800 miles, the B-52 easily has the combat radius to travel roughly 2,500 miles from Indonesia to the Chinese mainland. With its range, a B-52 would have sufficient dwell time throughout key parts of the region without having to refuel. Launching and landing B-52s from Indonesia offers a tactical and strategic advantage to the US and its South Asian allies as it is closer to mainland China and the South China Sea than Guam. Guam, which is roughly 3,000 miles from mainland China and much farther away from the South China Sea than Indonesia is. Therefore, having B-52s occasionally operate from Indonesia offers the US and expanded geographical and strategic window with which to hold China at risk and conduct Bomber Task Force patrols over sensitive areas such as the highly contested South China Sea.

B-52s in Guam & Indonesia