OVER THE EAST CHINA SEA – “Go back,” warned the Chinese air traffic controller. “You are now approaching Chinese airspace. Turn around immediately or you will be intercepted. “
The crew of the B-52, lodged 100 miles off the coast of China, disproved the warning sounded through the radio, and the 60-year-old plane stayed on course.
This was a mission for the presence of bombers, a taxi flight designed to demonstrate the long range of the United States military and maintain the right of international passage in disputed airspace.
It was also a glimpse into the Pentagon’s plan to rely on aircraft from the earliest days of the Cold War to prepare for the wars of the future.
February’s mission began at dawn at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, when the aircrew donned oxygen masks and ‘poo suits,’ puffy outerwear to keep out the cold in case the plane was forced into the ocean.