US B-52 bombers have been war training target acquisition missions out of RAF Fairford on an integration exercise. Bosses at the Gloucestershire airport are working alongside NATO allies from Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, and Czech Republic.
The Stratofortress aircraft from the Fairford-based 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron took part in Close Air Support Training alongside U.S, Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian Joint Terminal Attack Controllers near Poland. This integration focused on cutting-edge Beyond Line Of Sight target acquisitions practices, aimed at refining the process of obtaining a target while the target is outside the line of sight, or not clearly visible .
This type of training is said to significantly extends the strategic reach of the bombers. The Fairford B-52's also conducted operations in the Czech Republic centring on bomber intercept and escort procedures. Part of training involved 'quick change' crew turnarounds allowing bombers to take off in short time for tasking to fresh missions, reports Gloucestershire Live.
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