The awesome sight and sound of huge US military B52 bombers has returned to the UK n Thursday. The massive aircraft flew from their the Minot Air Base in North Dakota heading to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the first one landing today at 12.17pm and a second at around 2.50pm, followed by two more this afternoon.
B52 Stratofortress bombers are regular visitors to the base in the Cotswolds and flew missions from there following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Gloucestershire Live reports. Four of the aircraft from 5th Bomb Wing were deployed to England as part of the Bomber Task Force mission in February.
RAF Fairford acts as a forward operating base for the US military when it is conducting missions with NATO partners and other allies. The USAF has also sent B2 stealth bombers to the base.
The USAF said of previous deployments "Regularly integrating with our allies improves our cooperation and operational capacity, capability and interoperability. Occurring since 2018, bomber rotations through Europe maintain our readiness to execute a wide variety of missions across two continents, sustaining peace through deterrence."
During their last deployment to the UK, the B52 bombers also took part in a Nato mission in the Arctic.. They supported Exercise Cold Response 22. This is a Norwegian-led multinational NATO exercise.
This story will be updated as more information on their deployment, seven months after Russia's Ukraine invasion, comes to light.
What is a B-52?
The US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range, nuclear and conventional heavy bomber that can perform a wide variety of missions. The bombers are capable of flying at high subsonic altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, the bomber can carry precision-guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capabilities.
Affectionately known as BUFFs (Big Ugly Fat Fellas or a similar word beginning with F) - these big beasts cost around $14million each. In active service since 1955, they were built to carry nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
Each plane can carry up to 70,000 lbs of weapons and has a combat range of around 8,800 miles without refuelling. They were used extensively during the Vietnam War and have seen more recent service in the Gulf Wars and last year during the aerial bombardment of Syria.
