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The United States will deploy nuclear-capable bombers to a Northern Territory hangar in a move a war games expert says would be a warning to China over Taiwan but put a ‘bullseye’ on Australia.
Plans have been drawn up for six of the strategic B-52 ‘stratofortress’ bombers to be stationed at RAAF Base Tindal in Katherine from 2026.
The American plans include a US$100million parking area for the giant aircraft, which can be armed to deliver long-range strikes of nuclear and conventional weapons, a ‘squadron operations facility’ and an ammunition bunker.
The move is seen as both a ‘warning’ to China and a preparation for a war that a leading US expert on China said would be the ‘worst war in modern history’.
American war games expert Bec Wasser said moving B-52s to Australian soil was a ‘warning’ to Beijing.
Her employer, Centre for a New American Security, ran through scenarios to examine how a potential conflict could unfold.
Ms Wasser said the scenarios which saw the US basing its nuclear planes at Tindal ‘did very much put a bullseye on Australia’.
The United States is set to deploy nuclear-capable bombers to Darwin in a move a war games expert says would be a warning to China over Taiwan but put a ‘bullseye’ on Australia
Plans have been drawn up for six of the strategic B-52 ‘stratofortress’ bombers to be stationed at RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory from 2026
The American plans include a US$100million parking area for the giant aircraft, a ‘squadron operations facility’ and an ammunition bunker at RAAF Base Tindal, 320km south-east of Darwin (pictured, RAAF Base Tindal)
Australia directly joining an American fight against China did the same thing.
Ms Wasser said in war game exercises, Chinese attacks on Australia ‘were not successful’ because of the distances involved and because Beijing used its longest-range missiles earlier in the conflict.
But she said that could change if China develops ‘more advanced missile capability’.
An anti-nuclear activist also said the move would signal to Beijing that Australia was willing to be ‘the tip of the spear’ in a US response to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, the ABC reported.
American war games expert Bec Wasser of the Centre for a New American Security said moving B-52s to Australian soil is a ‘warning’ to Beijing
One estimate of when that invasion could happen was revised back from 2027 to 2025 – a little over two years away.
The US Airforce has an estimated 76 B-52 bombers in service. They were built to carry nuclear weapons for deterrence missions during the Cold War.
The B-52 has a combat range of around 14,080 km without aerial refueling. They have been used most recently for airstrikes against the Taliban.
Richard Tanter, a Melbourne University researcher who lectures on nuclear disarmament, claimed putting B52s in Darwin would be an obvious ‘commitment’ to America’s plans for war with China.
‘It’s a sign to the Chinese that we are willing to be the tip of the spear.’
He believes it is ‘more significant’ than the stationing of US marines in Darwin.
One in 10 Australians believe China will attack their country, which is double the number of Taiwanese people who fear a similar offensive
War game scenarios which saw the US air force based at Tindal ‘did very much put a bullseye on Australia’, a US expert said
One in 10 Australians believe China will attack their country, which is double the number of Taiwanese people who fear a similar offensive, according to the Australia Institute.
Oriana Skylar Mastro, a China expert at Stanford University said Beijing was becoming confident it could succeed in invading Taiwan and estimated it could try between 2025 and 2027.
‘For 15 years I would ask the Chinese military if they could do this, and the answer was “no”. So the fact that for the first time at the end of 2020 they’re starting to say “yes”, I think that’s a significant message we should pay attention to,’ she said.
Recently she said a war between the US and China would be the ‘worst war in modern history’ with ‘thousands and thousands’ killed every day of the conflict.
In 2020, a $1.1billion upgrade to RAAF Base Tindal was announced, funded by the bilateral US Force Posture Initiatives (US FPI).
This year the US Department of Defence set aside $22.5million for facilities at Tindal.
‘The [squadron operations] facility is required to support strategic operations and to run multiple 15-day training exercises during the Northern Territory dry season for deployed B-52 squadrons,’ US documents said.
The US also plans to build jet fuel storage tanks and an ammunition bunker at RAAF Base Tindal.
There are also predictions the US military will follow through on its investments at Tindal by basing navy, air force and army, as well as the marines, in Australia.
Ashley Townshend from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the B-52s were just the beginning of increased US activity in Australia.
Mr Tanter also claimed a joint US and Australian spy base near Alice Springs has also been upgraded, with a more than 33 per cent growth in the number of giant antennas focused on China.
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