The B-52 bombers deployed to Guam from Barksdale AFB, La., flew more than 18 continuous hours to participate in US Pacific Command’s Koa Lightning exercise in the Hawaiian islands, receiving two aerial refuelings during the 6,880-nautical mile round trip. Co-pilot Capt. Matthew Quy called the experience “as close to a combat sortie as you could get.” The Barksdale bombers and about 300 airmen arrived at Andersen AFB, Guam, earlier this year for the latest USAF bomber rotation to reinforce PACOM’s strategic strike capability.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber flew from Europe across the Middle East to the Persian Gulf on July 25 in a 32-hour flight, as conflicts continued to roil the area with U.S. troops coming under attack in Iraq and Syria on July 25 and July 26, U.S. officials told…