A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber flew with the Israeli Air Force and Royal Air Force over the eastern Mediterranean Sea on March 4, a U.S. defense official confirmed to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The sortie marks the third Bomber Task Force mission to the Middle East region in just the past month.
The B-52 took off from RAF Fairford, U.K.; traveled over the Mediterranean; and orbited off the coast of Israel, where it flew alongside Israeli Air Force F-35s and F-15s. The mission included integration with Royal Air Force fighters as well. The RAF has fighters based in the Mediterranean that support missions in the Middle East.
That mission came just two weeks after B-52s flew “multiple missions over the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea without landing,” Air Forces Central said in a Feb. 20 press release. Those missions, which were carried out over two consecutive days, included live weapons drops. They also included a rare Feb. 17 flight of two U.S. B-52s accompanied by Iraqi F-16s.
“Bomber Task Force missions demonstrate the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy combat power anywhere in the world and integrate it with Coalition and partner forces to enhance U.S. Central Command’s ability to promote security and stability in the region,” Air Forces Central (AFCENT) said in a February press release.
All the recent Bomber Task Force missions to the Middle East were flown by B-52s temporarily based at RAF Fairford. Those BUFFS are from the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron at Minot Air Force Base, N.D.
Bombers have played an increasingly important role in the Middle East in the past year. “Beyond their role as a deterrent through an active presence, the bombers have served to amplify U.S. strike capabilities against Iranian-affiliated militia groups throughout the past year,” AFCENT said last month.
In February 2024, the U.S. used B-1B Lancer bombers to strike 85 targets in Syria and Iraq to retaliate for the killing of three U.S. Army Soldiers at Tower 22 in Jordan in a militia drone attack. That site supports the Al Tanf Garrison just across the border in eastern Syria.
In October 2024, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber struck Houthi facilities in Yemen. And in November 2024, six B-52s deployed to CENTCOM for 45 days—the first BUFF deployment to the region since 2019—and participated in airstrikes against the Islamic State group.
On Feb. 27, two B-52s also conducted a simulated weapons drop in Turkey, which, while officially in the area of responsibility for U.S. European Command, borders Syria, Iraq, and Iran, countries covered by U.S. Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East.
The BUFFs kept up their busy stretch March 3, as they flew operated a BTF mission with Romanian F-16s, Croatian Rafales, and Bulgarian MiG-29s, U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) announced.