The U.S. military flew two supersonic bombers over South Korea on Wednesday in a show of force against North Korea, the second such flight in as many weeks following Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test.
One of the B-1B Lancer bombers also landed at Osan Air Base, which the Air Force said was the first such landing in 20 years.
{mosads}”The bond between the United States and the Republic of Korea is ironclad and the strength of that commitment will not be shaken by North Korea’s aggressive behavior,” Lt. Gen. Thomas W. Bergeson, 7th Air Force Commander, said in a written statement. “What we are showing today is just one tool we have to choose from a wide array of options. The alliance grows stronger every day and we remain prepared to defend and to preserve the security of the Korean peninsula and the region.”
The Air Force also touted the flyover as the closest ever to North Korea’s border.
Such flyovers are common during times of tension on the peninsula, particularly after North Korean nuclear tests. Pyongyang carried out a test Sept. 9, thought to be its biggest test yet based on the magnitude of the seismic activity detected.
The United States also flew a pair of B-1Bs over South Korea last week.
North Korea brushed off last week’s flyover as a “bluff.”
The B-1B does not currently carry nuclear weapons, and some do not consider it nuclear capable in its current configuration.
A U.S. Forces Korea press release on the flyover touted the bomber’s capabilities.
“The aircraft is capable of carrying the largest payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory,” the release said. “It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. The aircraft holds almost 50 world records for speed, payload, range and time of climb in its class.”