Five B-52s from an U.S. air base in Guam are parked on the flightline at Eielson Air Force Base. Air Force officials sent the big bombers and their crews to Eielson this week to wait out Typhoon Mangkhut, which struck the island Monday.
A Weather Channel forecaster said Tuesday Mangkhut had grown stronger after it had spun away from Guam en route to Asia.
“So, Mangkhut is now a super typhoon. This is a monstrous, very scary-looking storm, with sustained winds of 155 miles per hour,” the forecaster said. “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.
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
