US Air Force’s Central Command has released
images that confirm that B-52H Stratofortress
bombers have arrived in Qatar on Thursday
night.
There are other also bombers that have landed
in an undisclosed location in “southwest
Asia,” as per U.S Air Force.
U.S Air Force stated that the aircraft are
part is 20th Bomb Squadron of Barksdale Air
Force Base in Louisiana.
As per the White House, the deployment is
aimed at countering unspecified threats from
Iran.
This comes after USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft
carrier strike group has been ordered to move
to the Middle East.
To know more, check the video on the above
card.
It is reported that USS Lincoln has passed
through the Suez Canal on its way to the Persian
Gulf on Thursday.
In this video, Defense Updates analyses why
Iran should fear American B-52H bomber’s
deployment in Qatar?
Let's get started.
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Relations between U.S & Iran has reached new
low recently after Trump Administration decided
to withdraw from Iran nuclear deal unilaterally
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says Iran
will no longer abide by the terms of the nuclear
deal signed with America and other world powers
-the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany.
The deal basically restricted Iran’s nuclear
program in exchange for economic relief.
Iran is now expected to restart its nuclear
program in pursuit of developing a nuclear bomb.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American
long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic
bomber.
The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing,
which has continued to provide support and
upgrades.
It has been operated by the United States
Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s.
Superior performance at high subsonic speeds
and relatively low operating costs have kept
the B-52 in service despite the advent of
more advanced aircraft, including the variable-geometry
B1B Lancer, and the stealth B-2 Spirit.
After being upgraded between 2013 and 2015,
it is supposed to serve into the 2040s.
The B-52s are expected to reach the end of
their service lives by 2045 and be replaced
by B-21 Raiders.
B 52 is powered by Pratt & Whitney turbojet
engines.
The 8 engines of the B-52 are paired in pods
and suspended by four pylons beneath and forward
of the wings leading edge.
It has a typical combat range of more than
8,800 miles (14,080 km) without aerial refueling.
The massive range enables B 52 to take on
strategic bombing missions.
The powerful engines also enable B 52 to carry
up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons,
which is significantly higher than 50,000
pounds payload capacity of B 2 Spirit & B1B.
The B 52 is capable of carrying both conventional
as well as nuclear weapons.
The ability to carry up to 20 AGM-69 SRAM
nuclear missiles was added to G and H models,
starting in 1971.
To further improve B 52's offensive capability,
U.S military planners decided to induct a
more potent air-launched cruise missile to
replace the AGM-69 SRAM.
After testing of both the Air Force-backed
Boeing AGM-86 and the Navy-backed General
Dynamics AGM-109 Tomahawk, the AGM-86B was
selected for operation for the B-52.
A total of 194 B-52Gs and Hs were modified
to carry AGM-86s, carrying 12 missiles on
underwing pylons, with 82 B-52Hs further modified
to carry another 8 missiles on a rotary launcher
fitted in the bomb-bay.
The AGM-86 is a subsonic air-launched cruise
missile.
This missile was developed to increase the
effectiveness and survivability of the Boeing
B-52 bomber as the missile can be fired from
standoff ranges.
In combination, the missile dilutes an enemy’s
forces and complicates air defense of its
territory.
All variants of the AGM-86 missile are powered
by a Williams F107 turbofan jet engine that
propels it at sustained subsonic speeds and
can be launched from aircraft at both high
and low altitudes.
The missile deploys its folded wings, tail
surfaces, and engine inlet after launch.
Sophisticated guidance makes the missile very
accurate.
It has a range of 1,100 to 2,400 km depending
on variant.
This enables the B 52 to launch it far off
from the target.
As stated earlier a single B 52 can launch
up to 20 of these missiles.
Hence, an enemy force could have to counterattack
more than one missile at a time, making them
very difficult to intercept.
The enemy’s defenses are further hampered
by the missile's small size and low-altitude
flight capability, which makes them difficult
to detect on radar and intercept.
The missile deploys W80 thermonuclear warhead.
The W80 is a thermonuclear warhead in the
U.S. nuke stockpile with a variable yield
of between 5 and 150 kt of TNT.
It is specifically designed to be used by
AGM-86 as well as the BGM-109 Tomahawk.
It is essentially a modification of the widely
deployed B61 weapon, which forms the basis
of most of the current US stockpile.
The W80 is a powerful asset, to give viewers
a perspective here is a comparison.
Trinity Test in New Mexico in July 1945, which
lead the world into the nuclear age, had a
yield of 20-kilotons.
Hiroshima's "Little Boy" bomb had a yield
of 13-18 kilotons whereas Nagasaki's "Fat
Man" bomb had a yield of 20–22 kilotons
of TNT.
Depending on variant G or H, B 52 will be
able to launch 12 or 20 of these W80 warheads
carried by AGM-86 missile.
This means a single aircraft has a destructive
capacity of 12 * 150 that is 1800 or 20 * 150
that is 3000 kt tons of TNT.
This is enough to obliterate a huge part of
landmass.
