US Air Force B-1B Lancers train with destroyer USS Sterett in South China Sea

Two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers flew a 10-hour mission from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, to train with the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG 104) in the South China Sea on June 8.

The joint training was organized under Pacific Command’s continuous bomber presence program (CBP) and aimed at allowing the Air Force and Navy to “increase interoperability by refining joint tactics, techniques and procedures while simultaneously strengthening their ability to seamlessly integrate their operations.”

Stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, the B-1B Lancers deployed to Guam in August 2016 to replace the B-52 Stratofortresses for the first time in 10 years.

USS Sterett is part of the U.S. Navy’s Sterett-Dewey surface action group which is currently on a Western Pacific deployment. The two destroyers departed San Diego on March 31, 2017 to conduct routine patrols, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation activities with regional navies.