Five B-52s from a U.S. air base in Guam are parked at the southern end of the airfield on Eielson Air Force Base. The big bombers and their crews were sent to Eielson this week to wait out a powerful typhoon that's now spinning its way toward Asia. Typhoon Mangkhut passed by Guam on Monday, but it still hammered the island territory with high winds and heavy rains. A Weather Channel meteorologist said Tuesday Mangkhut had grown stronger after it had spun away from Guam en route to Asia.
“So, Mangkhut is now a super typhoon,” Danielle Banks said. “This is a monstrous, very scary-looking storm, with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour. And it is set to make some big-time impacts on southeastern Asia, as we get closer toward the weekend.”
An Eielson spokesperson said Tuesday the five bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana had been deployed to Andersen Air Base in Guam as part of a routine deployment. The B-52s are assigned to the 96th Bomb Squadron from Barksdale.
Eielson officials say they’re not sure how long the B-52s will remain at Eielson.
