First aerial bombing mission completed at Kwajalein

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Erica Stewart
  • 36th Operations Group public affairs
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE, Guam (AFNS) --  On Jan. 23, the 393rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed here with their B-2 Spirit stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., completed the first aerial bombing mission at the U.S. Army Kwajalein Atoll Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site .

The Kwajalein Atoll is home to the Reagan test site and encompasses approximately 750,000 square miles. For the past 30 years it has been used to validate the Air Force's strategic nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile strike capabilities as well as developing U.S. missiles defense capabilities.

"RTS prides itself in being a vital nation asset capable of meeting a wide variety of mission requirements to include the testing and validating some of United States' most strategic weapons systems," said Ms. Bert Jones, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command public affairs representative.

"The B-2 Spirit is another one of the U.S. strategic weapons systems, but this is the first time it has used RTS and its instrumentation for training and to validate its existing capabilities."

By opening Kwajalein to aircraft missions, the RTS personnel are able to validate opening the range to other weapons systems.

"We are showing the proficiency of the B-2 pilots and the aircraft by providing feedback of the accuracy of the weapons dropped," said Ms. Jones.

"From the range perspective, this mission is showing that RTS is flexible enough to validate (the) nation's strategic weapon systems other than (the) intercontinental ballistic missile."

The 393rd EBS embraced the joint PACOM mission by working with the U.S. Army on the ground at Kwajalein.

"Joint missions like this one are incredibly important because that's how we fight our wars," said Capt. Dan Hoadley, a 393rd EBS flight commander and B-2 instructor pilot.
"It is important for us to practice the coordination it takes to execute a mission like this one in training so that things go smooth in combat."

Many people were used to coordinate this mission, not only at Andersen but also at Kwajalein.

"It takes a veritable army of people to plan a mission like this," Captain Hoadley said.

"There was tons of coordination between people in the mission planning cell, people at the Kwajalein range and people at the command level to make this mission happen," he said.

All the planning and coordination paid off at 1:15 p.m. when six inert joint direct attack munitions shacked the target at RTS.

"This mission showcases the B-2's abilities to strike anywhere, anytime with precision, payload and stealth," said Maj. Rob Makros, the 393rd EBS deputy chief of weapons and tactics.

"Flying 22.3 hours, refueling three times and receiving over 200,000 pounds of fuel, and dropping six 2000-pound weapons are serious capabilities that we bring to the table," he said.

Not only have these capabilities opened up Kwajalein beyond ballistic missile and missile interceptor testing, but they also have provided new opportunities for joint service exercises at RTS that demonstrate U.S. commitment to regional and global security, said Major Makros.


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