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B-1 bombers deployed to Persian Gulf

From Mike Mount
CNN


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•  Commanders: U.S. | Iraq
•  Weapons: 3D Models
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three U.S. Air Force B-1 bombers have left their South Dakota bases for deployment in the Persian Gulf region for possible military action over Iraq, U.S. Air Force officials said.

The bombers, which departed Wednesday, were the first of many that can be deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.

Ellsworth is home to 26 of the sleek, supersonic B-1 Lancers capable of carrying dozens of bombs, including precision-guided weapons.

Air Force officials said that within the next week several other B-1s will deploy to the U.S. Central Command region and more than 500 Air Force personnel from Ellsworth will follow.

Many of those deployed will be B-1 flight crew members and support personnel.

B-1s were used extensively during the war in Afghanistan, and they have been a part of the Air Force arsenal since 1988.

They were not used in combat until Operation Desert Fox, four days of air and missile strikes launched by the United States and Britain in December 1998 following Saddam Hussein's prohibition of the return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq.

Originally, the B-1 was designed to deliver nuclear weapons at long range.



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