B1 Bombers to be sent to Australia..

That's what Assistant US defence secretary David Shear told a Congressional hearing today, but now the Pentagon has said they don't have plans on basing B1's and surveillance aircraft here.

China were expectedly peeved about it and we know that the goings on in the South China Sea are the reason for all this hoopla..

So was this a Fruedian slip? One hand not talking to the other?

www.abc.net.au...

Fruedian slip I,m afraid..Sigh......We do miss the F111 terribly...

a reply to: Blackfinger

Yep, I have a soft spot for them too..

The choice of B1 seems an unusual choice don't you think?

a reply to: Chadwickus

I don't understand why Australian citizens seem to be so hostile towards American bases & military equipment being stationed here. We need as much as we can get, from our greatest ally.

Screw what China thinks, they'll keep buying our gold and iron ore, regardless.

a reply to: Chadwickus

I don't think so. Range, speed, and payload. We have maintained, for years, we will defend Tawain from Chinese aggression and our position in the P.I. Is also defensible. China 's military complex is ever increasing their reach into the South China Sea with these man made islands and floating cities and runways. They would like nothing more then wipe Tawain, Japan and others off the map. Really, no different then B52s and B2s at Diego Garcia prior to GW1.

a reply to: Chadwickus

More pretty targets

More money wasted

a reply to: bkfd54

Please you are giving me giggles

originally posted by: Chadwickus
a reply to: Blackfinger

Yep, I have a soft spot for them too..

The choice of B1 seems an unusual choice don't you think?

The Australian landscape is vast and military bases are few and far between.That and only a few of them have capabilty for fast jets.

I don't understand why Australian citizens seem to be so hostile towards American bases & military equipment being stationed here. We need as much as we can get, from our greatest ally. Screw what China thinks, they'll keep buying our gold and iron ore, regardless.

Ask the Pollies..

a reply to: Chadwickus

The B-1 is a good choice actually. The B-52 already has everything it needs on Guam, and the B-2 is scared to deploy to foreign countries.

a reply to: Zaphod58

I was thinking more along the lines of what the B1's would be targeting..

What are your thoughts on what the secretary said?

a reply to: Zaphod58

Maybe a certain secret spy plane is going to be hanging around Australia, and Mr Shear kinda had an attack of loose lips !!

a reply to: Chadwickus

I'm actually surprised they haven't moved to the Pacific, beyond Guam, already. It makes sense.

a reply to: Subaeruginosa
Australians have an uneasy attitude towards American military presence here due to three things.
1. Decades of continual leftist anti US attitudes in politics, unions, student movements and left over from Vietnam.
2. A general dislike of having to be subservient to any colonial or superpower.
3. An uneasy suspicion that being anybody's right hand man can lead to more enemies, and less independence in your region than friends.

And to illustrate the third point saying things like, "Screw what China thinks, they'll keep buying our gold and iron ore, regardless." is not a smart statement when your balance of trade and ability to pay your house mortgage relies upon the following list of who buys our exported stuff. And knowing that China can buy that stuff from elsewhere anyway if they want to hurt us to make a point.
China 32.5%
Japan 15.4%
S Korea 6.8%
US 5.1%
NZ 3.5%
Singapore 3.3%
India 3.2%
Taiwan 2.5%
Not to bright to bite the biggest hand that feeds you when there are other ways to talk with and deal with China that are more effective. Communist regimes rely upon the bluff and bluster game to get their point across. Playing that game will get you further than stupid gaffe's by US defence officials.

LEE.

a reply to: Chadwickus

G,day mate
saw this on abc myself this morning and my first thought was someone has stuffed up
the dep. sec. def. also mentioned more marines to be stationed down here
hear tell they like to call themselves GOD'S misguided children
goes to show they have not had much to do with the gentlemen of the RAN. lol
i have been wondering how long till more showed up.
ever since barry gave his little speech in darwin with mbrs of all three aussie branches of the services arrayed behind him.
instead of the us marines who were left standing/sitting with the media pollies and public.
couple that with the look of shock on julia gillards face at the start of the media event.
i figured yep we are owned now by the faceless ones who move the chess pieces around and they will prove it to us by stationing more poor bloody unsuspecting yank
troopies down here
dont worry blokes if all goes pear shaped back in the states you will have a new home and a far better pay rate
and you will get to drive on the correct side of the road lol

a reply to: Zaphod58
No I disagree, without a long range modern weapon like LRASM-B or similar the B-1 is probably not survivable with the kind of counter that the PLAN and PLAAF can deploy if you are stupid enough to walk into what they consider to be their backyard. And if you try the bad idea of trying to plink PLAN surface vessels with free fall glide weapons like JDAM you are going to get whacked by their defensive SAM ring. It also takes longer to turn around than a BUFF and fully loaded with munitions in the hot and dense climate of northern Australia and SE Asia it wont climb much above about 15 thousand feet with a full bag of gas which puts you right in the worst band for the nastiest weather that region can provide, and that cuts range. A BUFF would be a better choice. Or better still try a non military solution.

LEE.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: Chadwickus

I'm actually surprised they haven't moved to the Pacific, beyond Guam, already. It makes sense.

G,day Zapper.
since your mob started to base so much stuff on guam i figured bad move blokes
the place cant move its a new pearl waiting to happen
was glad to hear your mob is moving back to bases in the philippines

a reply to: thebozeian

If you move the B-52s down there long term you need to add infrastructure that costs. Guam has already had it in place since Vietnam. The B-1 can use most of the existing infrastructure, if not all of it, so saves money.

As far as payload, they'll do the same thing they do in the UAE and ME, and tank after launch. Once the MRTT gets a working boom that would give more tanker options.

The B-1 works remarkably well, even against more modern SAMs on a hi-lo-lo-hi profile. It has a surprisingly low RCS for a non stealth aircraft.

a reply to: pronto

Guam has the advantage of having been a B-52 base in Vietnam, so it already has a huge parking area and hangars in place, as well as fuel system, etc.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Then surely you can base B2's there as well, no ? Unless they are there already

a reply to: nelloh62

On Guam? They're scared of that place. They lost one aircraft there, and burned another one so badly it took two years to rebuild it.