The U.S. Air Force plans to send a number of B-1B Lancer bombers to South Korea, to take part in a week-long joint military exercise following North Korea’s latest missile test, The Hill writes, citing Yonhap News Agency.
The long-range bombers will join more than 230 aircraft taking part in the two countries’ largest-ever joint exercise, called “Vigilant Ace,” a defense source told the Yonhap.
The supersonic bombers have previously flown to the Korean peninsula in pairs as a show of force after past missile launches by the isolated nation’s military. The U.S. has also sent two dozen advanced F-22 stealth fighters and F-35 aircraft to take part in the exercise, which will focus on taking out mock North Korean missile launch vehicles and nuclear sites, The Hill adds.
North Korea’s latest launch happened two months after the nation’s last provocation on September 15, when it fired its second missile over Japan The missile is reported to have flown at a distance of more than 600 miles and a height of 2,800 miles. According to experts say, the missile could reach the eastern U.S., though it’s unclear whether the nation is capable of mounting a nuclear warhead to such a missile, The Hill informs.
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