Amid growing tensions between North Korea and the United States, it has been reported that the US Air Force is preparing to put its nuclear-armed bombers on 24-hour alert for the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1991. North Korea reportedly called US President a “hooligan” and a “lunatic” after the latest move.
“This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared,” General David Goldfein, Air Force chief of staff, said in an interview during his six-day tour of Barksdale and other US Air Force bases that support the nuclear mission. “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.”
Soon, B-52 aircraft, permanently laden with nuclear weapons, could be parked next to the runways on air-bases waiting for the order to attack, The Sun reported.
Gen. Goldfein is also asking his force to think of new ways that nuclear weapons could be used for deterrence, or even combat. “The world is a dangerous place and we’ve got folks that are talking openly about use of nuclear weapons,” he said. “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.”
According to Defense One, improvements have already been made to prepare Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana which acts as home to the 2d Bomb Wing and Air Force Global Strike Command, which oversees US nuclear forces.
Near the alert pads, an old concrete building — where B-52 crews during the Cold War would sleep — is being renovated. Inside, beds are being installed for more than 100 crew members who will man the bombers positioned on the nine alert pads outside, the news site reported. Meanwhile, North Korea’s KCNA, in an editorial, said: “Lunatic Trump is running headlong into ruin, taking America with him.”
