DVIDS
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, GERMANY
Story by 2nd Lt. Charis Bryan
U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs
A U.S. Air Force B-52H Strato fortress aircraft from the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, completed the final mission for the latest Bomber Task Force rotation with a flight over Morocco June 18, 2021.
The B-52 aircraft departed its forward-operating location at Morón Air Base, Spain, to fly down to Morocco before returning to Barksdale AFB.
“The final two days of flights over Morocco and through the Arctic are great examples of our team’s range and flexibility,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa commander. “My hope is that our air operations over the last month have demonstrated our unwavering commitment to our European and African partners and sent the message that we are invested in creating opportunities to grow together.”
This is the third time bomber aircraft conducted operations in U.S. Africa Command during the deployment. On May 21, the bombers conducted integration and interoperability training with Tunisian air and ground forces during a bilateral training sortie. Two weeks later, the B-52s completed a mission to the Gulf of Guinea before flying along the western and northern African coasts on their return to Morón AB, Spain.
This deployment spanned the European, African, North American, Arctic and Pacific regions, demonstrating the global capabilities of this long-range aircraft.
The level of partnership and coordination BTF operations achieve was highlighted when U.S. aircraft, for the second time, successfully flew over all 30 NATO nations in one day while integrating with aircraft from more than 20 allied nations.
The strategic bombers completed over a dozen missions integrating with allied and partnered nations while operating out of Spain for the past month. The B-52s also supported special operations training with joint terminal attack controllers from Canada, Latvia and Lithuania, and integrated with U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa’s Patrol Squadron 40 (VP-40) during the annual BALTOPS exercise, as well as various other aircraft assigned to USAFE-AFAFRICA throughout the deployment.
Bomber Task Force missions demonstrate U.S. commitment to the collective defense of NATO and contribute to stability in multiple theaters. The ability to quickly respond and assure allies and partners rests upon the fact that U.S. forces are here and ready, in Europe and Africa.
Continuing coverage of Bomber Task Force deployments will be available on this website and on the DVIDS hub at: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/bombertaskforceeurope
