Fifth Air Force: Ready For The Future

摘要

On 11 august 2007, a pair of Russian Tu-95 bombers flew from eastern Russia, skirted the coast of Japan, turned south, and headed for Guam, where US forces were conducting Exercise Valiant Shield, which involved over 280 aircraft, 30 ships, and more than 20,000 service members. Although the Russian bombers never approached closer than 380 miles from Guam, this mission offered one more indication of the revitalization of the Russian mili-rntary under Pres. Vladimir Putin. On 11 January 2007, China launched its first antisatellite weapon against one of its aging weather satellites, successfully destroying the spacecraft and demonstrating another building block in China's capability to deploy asymmetric force. On 9 October 2006, North Korea detonated its first nuclear weapon, leading Japan's prime minister to declare that the test was "unpardonable" and that the region was "entering a new, dangerous nuclear age."