Nuclear-armed B-52 bombers are being prepared by the American Air Force to be put back on 24-hour alert for the first time in 25 years. The preparations are happening at a time when the tensions between North Korea and President Donald Trump are getting higher.
“I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared going forward,” Air Force Chief of Staff, General David Goldfein said.
Even though the order to have the bombers on alert has not been given by the heads of U.S. Strategic Command or U.S. Northern Command, Goldfein, who is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that in the current political climate the Air Force anticipates that it might come, Newsweek reports.
“This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” he said.
About 40 bombers were on 24-hour alert during the Cold War, but the alert was ended in 1991 after the end of the Cold War. Some former diplomats expressed their worries about the prospects of returning the alert, and Adam Blickstein, a former public affairs strategic planner for the Secretary of Defense, even noted that Trump has signed an executive order, so the Air Force could bring one thousand pilots out of retirement. The Air Force denied that.
But, Goldfein said that the world is a dangerous place and that there are people who openly talk about the use of nuclear weapons.
“It’s no longer a bipolar world where it’s just us and the Soviet Union. We’ve got other players out there who have nuclear capability. It’s never been more important to make sure that we get this mission right,” Goldfein said.
After a series of tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles and underground nuclear weapons that Pyongyang conducted, Trump threatened military action against North Korea a few months ago. On Sunday he said that “you would be shocked to see how totally prepared we are” for military action against Pyongyang.
Be the first to comment