The US Air Force announces the deployment of strategic bombers in Europe

A US Air Force press release has confirmed that the next Bomber Task Force deployment to Europe will begin in the coming days, most likely at RAF Fairford, UK.

The Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment has been a regular feature of each year’s calendar since 2018, with B-52, B-1 and B-2 aircraft deployed to locations around the world to gain experience in when operating in unknown locations and to provide opportunities to train alongside allied forces.

Although the deployment location and bomber type were not specified by the official press releasethe announcement coincides with movements of cargo aircraft to RAF Fairford from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Barksdale is home to the 2nd Bomb Wing’s B-52H Stratofortresses. However, it should be noted that some previous BTFs have deployed mixed aircraft from multiple bases. In this case, aircraft could also have come from Minot AFB in North Dakota.

The first support aircraft to arrive was the N710CK, a Boeing 747 from Kalitta Air. The aircraft arrived from Barksdale AFB just before 11:00 UTC on November 1, 2024. Kalitta Air is a permanent contractor for the United States Department of Defense. This 747 was followed by US Air Force C-17 09-9212, which arrived as ‘REACH 138’ at 1250 UTC from Joint Base Charleston.

Kalitta Air 747 in #RAFFairford from Barksdale AFB this morning. pic.twitter.com/OCmyMvm2J2

— Sint1 (@Saint1Mil) November 1, 2024

A B-52 deployment to Fairford would be the second such deployment in 2024 BTF 24-3 in June. RAF Fairford, an airbase in Gloucestershire, UK, operated by the US Air Force, is one of the most common BTF locations. During the rest of the year, except for the Royal International Air Tattoo Every year in July, the most important movements of the base are those of the based U-2s of the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron.

According to the US Air Force, the strategic bombers will operate alongside NATO allies and partners over the course of several weeks during the upcoming European deployment. In previous BTF exercises in Europe, bombers conducted long-range sorties as far as the Middle East And Africa as well as more local operations over North and South Africa Eastern Europe. Occasionally they will coincide with and participate in broader exercises such as BALTOPS.

Swedish AF #flygvapnet @Saab #Grip And @Luftforsvaret @LockheedMartin F-35s escorted @AFGlobalStrike B-52s over Scandinavia this morning. The B-52s dropped bombs on the Vidsel range in Sweden as part of a Global Power mission before landing in Britain. Photos from SWAF pic.twitter.com/WLZAyWdwJx

— Tony Osborne (@Rotorfocus) August 18, 2022

After departing the U.S., the Air Force says the deploying bombers will “fly a pre-filed flight plan through international airspace and with appropriate diplomatic clearance for times when aircraft are flying through the airspace of a sovereign nation.” This suggests that rather than taking a direct route to the deployment base, the bombers will conduct a Global Power Mission-type mission along the way, which is a regular part of European deployments.

RAF Fairford

Although it officially remains a Royal Air Force station, RAF Fairford is operated by the US Air Force’s 501st Combat Support Wing. It is the only designated strategic forward operational location for bombers in Europe and hosts bombers flying combat missions in the 1991 Gulf War, the 1999 Kosovo War and 2003 Iraq War.

While other locations in Europe can and have hosted bombers as part of regular BTF deployments, RAF Fairford is specifically equipped for long-term bomber operations. In the early 2000s, special hangars were built for the B-2 Spirit, which requires carefully controlled conditions to maintain its radar-absorbent material. The base is only about 30 miles by road RAF Welfordthe second largest U.S. Air Force ammunition storage facility in Europe, giving the base access to a steady supply of weapons supplies.

Since 2019, Fairford has hosted a permanent detachment of U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft. Although the airfield was no stranger to this type, this was the first time since 1996 that they had been permanently based at RAF Fairford, as there were regular stops by U-2s in transit to and from operating locations in Southern Europe and the Central -East. see at least one U-2 departing in the early morning and returning in the afternoon or evening. Spectators at some of Royal International Air Tattoo’s airshows since 2019 have been lucky enough to see some of these arrivals during the event.

Official commentary on the U-2’s operations from Fairford is scant and limited mainly to acknowledging their presence and commenting that they “fly one or two flights a day, about 20 flights a month”. Local spotters are often advised not to post photos or information about the U-2’s daily flights until they return. Although the flights can be tracked by adversaries using radar, the exact cause is more likely sensor charge equipped for the U-2 on that particular day.

Aviation enthusiasts have been able to track some portions of the U-2 detachments’ daily flights using a combination of radio monitoring and Mode A tracking, and information from these sources suggests, as many have theorized, that most flights to Eastern Europe to go. or further north towards the Barents Sea.

With the U-2 being retired, Fairford has undergone construction work regulatory work in preparation for the future exploitation of unmanned aircraft. One landed for the first time in August 2024 RQ-4 Global Hawk at the base.

With the Global Hawk also set to be retired from the US Air Force by the end of this decade, it seems more likely that RAF Fairford will be set up for future deployments of more advanced types, rather than preparing for this specific purpose in the long term type. like the RQ-170 or perhaps the mysterious drone commonly called the RQ-180.