Two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratrofortress bombers flew over the Middle East on Feb. 17 in a “force projection” demonstration, U.S. Central Command announced. The mission also included live munitions drops and fighter escorts from regional partners, according to CENTCOM.
Multiple B-52 Stratofortresses flew over the Korean Peninsula on June 30, escorted by U.S. and South Korean fighters as part of a “combined aerial training event,” both countries’ militaries announced. The nuclear-capable bombers flew alongside U.S. Air Force F-16s and F-15Es and Republic of Korea Air ...
U.S. forces are about half way done with the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan as the U.S. and NATO pledge to continue support in new ways. U.S. Central Command boss Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said June 7 that with so much progress already, “we will ...
U.S. C-17s have now flown 104 loads of materiel out of Afghanistan as the retrograde continues, and U.S. Central Command plans to destroy more than 1,800 pieces of equipment. Between six and 12 percent of the entire retrograde process is complete, CENTCOM said in a ...
Two more B-52s arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on May 4, bringing the total number of Stratofortresses deployed to the region to six as the U.S. continues its withdrawal from Afghanistan. The bombers, from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, ...
U.S. aircraft will continue to provide support for Afghan forces through the withdrawal process beginning May 1. The Pentagon’s No. 2 official said she is confident that modernized technology and processes mean “over-the-horizon” support from outside the country will be effective. “It’s not 2001—it’s 2021,” ...
The State Department on April 27 ordered some of its diplomatic staff to leave the U.S. Embassy in Kabul as the drawdown in Afghanistan begins and the U.S. continues planning for what future force protection in the country will look like. In a new travel ...
Two B-52s arrived in the Middle East on April 23 as part of an increase in airpower to protect U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan as part of the withdrawal in the country. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III approved the deployment of the bombers ...
Four B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, in late January, as part of a Bomber Task Force deployment to Pacific Air Forces, where they will train with allied and partner forces. “Deploying as a Bomber Task Force ...
Rolls-Royce formally entered the competition to re-engine the B-52 as expected, offering its F130 engine already in use in some USAF aircraft to power the bomber. The Air Force on May 19 issued its request for proposals for the B-52 Commercial Engine Replacement Program, with ...
The unprecedented pace of bomber task force deployments to Europe recently has allowed USAF's strategic forces to train with allies they haven’t flown alongside before in areas generally unfamiliar to the bombers, the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe said. The task force flights, ...
F-22s from the North American Aerospace Defense Command, with help from a KC-135 assigned to U.S. Transportation Command, intercepted two Russian IL-38 aircraft in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone late on June 24. While the aircraft got within 50 miles of Alaska's Unimak Island ...