Four B-1B Lancers assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, arrive at Andersen AFB, Guam. The 9th EBS is taking over U.S. Pacific Command’s continuous bomber presence operations in the region. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Richard P. Ebensberger)
Northern Mariana Island would serve as a backup airbase to Guam, should that facility be knocked out in an attack
It is from this base on diminutive Tinian Island, called North Field, that two B-29 bombers, modified to carry atomic bombs as part of Operation Silverplate flew separate sorties that would comprise the only operational uses of nuclear weapons to date.
Some 75 years later, the island has garnered new attention — the US Air Force is now looking at it as a backup to Guam, should that base be destroyed in an attack. According to reports, the Department of Defense is moving ahead with plans to formally build an air base on Tinian, located just 100 miles to the north of Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base, The War Zone reported.
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WNU Editor: You can never go wrong with a Back-up plan.
