After 4 USAF Boeing B-52 Stratofortress bombers arrived at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, as part of the Bomber Task Force Missions and to serve a deterrent to a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, one of the B-52s spent 23 hours and 25 minutes in the air conducting a  security flight around Europe and the Mediterranean.

Earlier this week, various B-52 Stratofortress bombers, part of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base from North Dakota, arrived at RAF Fairford as they were scheduled to be deployed to regularly scheduled Bomber Task Force missions carried out by the US European Command and the US Strategic Command. Together with British fighter jets and Portuguese F-16s, these bombers are part of NATO’s Icelandic Air Policing mission, which is conducted jointly with the British Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) to ensure readiness to launch and coordinate air strikes as well as security in the region.

“With an ever-changing global security environment, it’s critical that our efforts with our allies and partners are unified,” said Gen Jeff Harrigian, USAFE-AFAFRICA commander. “We’re in Europe training and collaborating together because consistent integration is how we strengthen our collective airpower,” said the statement released by US Air Forces In Europe & Air Forces In Africa.