Stratofortress bombers are part of a Task Force of 6 “Buffs”: the largest American bomber deployment to RAF Fairford since the Iraq war in 2003.
On Mar. 18, 2019, a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber, deployed to RAF Fairford from its homebase at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, was spotted refueling from a KC-135R Stratotanker over Romania.
The aircraft, belonging to the 2nd Bomb Wing, is part of a contingent of 6x B-52s deployed to the UK as part of a Bomber Task Force rotation in Europe. It is the largest Stratofortress deployment since Iraqi Freedom in 2003, when there were as many as 17x “Buffs” on the ramp at RAF Fairford
“The deployment of strategic bombers to the U.K. helps exercise RAF Fairford as United States Air Forces in Europe’s forward operating location for bombers. The deployment also includes joint and allied training in the U.S. European Command theater to improve bomber interoperability. Training with joint partners, allied nations and other U.S. Air Force units contributes to our ready and postured forces and enables us to build enduring and strategic relationships necessary to confront a broad range of global challenges,” says a news release on the U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command website.
The B-52 were deployed to the UK on Mar. 14 and 15 and have started launching “local” sorties since Friday.
On Mar. 15, a B-52 flew some 150 km off the Russian border the Russian Defense Ministry claimed according to TASS News Agency:
“On March 15, 2019, a US Air Force B-52 aircraft with the transponder switched on performed a flight over international waters of the Baltic Sea parallel to Russia’s territorial waters. The plane did not approach Russia’s border closer than 150 kilometers and turned around immediately after Russian air defense systems on combat duty tracked it,” the Russian MoD said.
B-52s have been quite active this week too: the heavy bombers have already conducted other “theater familiarization flights” on Monday, when four B-52s were launched over the Norwegian Sea, the Baltic Sea, Estonia, the Mediterranean Sea and Greece. Some of them could be tracked online during their tour of Europe.
B52 bomber – 23,000ft over Estonia
🇺🇸 US Air Force
B-52H 60-0061https://t.co/9fslq99qd3 pic.twitter.com/siC5Kfi0n3
— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) March 18, 2019
Dealing with the one spotted over Romania, B-52 #61-0015 using radio callsign “AERO 11” was being refueled by KC-135R #60-0344 “QID244”.
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🇺🇸 US Air Force B52 bomber mid-air refuelling over #Romania 👇😎
https://t.co/5lH6Yq0t18
— CivMilAir ✈ (@CivMilAir) March 18, 2019
The KC-135R could be tracked online while it accompanied the B-52 back to the UK:
Yesterday at 5pm, KC135R on its way back to the UK, the B52 was in front of KC135R but not visible on radar 😉 pic.twitter.com/5khjjJh3S1
— BoardingPass (@BoardingPassRO) March 19, 2019
The six Buffs are expected to fly from the Arctic all the way down to the Sahara desert during their stay in Europe. Expect more photo and flight tracking opportunities over the coming weeks!
