The Air Force revealed Monday that its flagship B-2 Spirit stealth bomber can now strike enemy warships with the long range anti-ship missile (LRASM), publicly unveiling the capability after a live-fire exercise in the Western Pacific.The stealth bomber launched a long-range anti-ship missile during Exercise Valiant Shield 26, a U.S.-led multinational exercise involving American and allied forces across the Western Pacific, in a sinking exercise north of the Mariana Islands.The announcement comes as the Pentagon increasingly focuses on preparing for a potential conflict in the Indo-Pacific, where China's rapidly expanding navy would present one of the U.S.military's biggest challenges.
Publicly demonstrating the B-2's new maritime strike capability also serves as a signal that the stealth bomber could play a key role in holding high-value naval targets at risk.B-2 dropping an anti-ship missile (US Air Force)"The B-2's impressive performance underscores the U.S.military’s commitment to adaptability and flexibility in the face of emerging security challenges," Gen.
Kevin B.Schneider, commander of Pacific Air Forces, said in a statement.TRUMP PLAN FOR FOREIGN SHIPBUILDERS COULD CREATE 540,000 JOBS AND EXPAND US FLEET"By prioritizing counter-maritime strike operations, we can maintain a decisive edge over adversaries, protect our national interests and ensure the free and open Pacific that underpin our global security."Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for details, but confirmed to The War Zone that the B-2 fired the anti-ship missile at a decommissioned amphibious warfare ship known as the USS Juneau during the exercise.U.S.
and partner-nation forces battered the decommissioned warship, which entered service in 1969, with coordinated air, surface and subsurface strikes June 27 and June 28, sending it to the bottom of the Philippine Sea more than 200 nautical miles off the coast of Guam, according to a Navy release.A J...