The US Air Force moved four B-52 Stratofortresses from the 5th Bomber Squadron from Minot Air Force Base to Fairford in the United Kingdom on Thursday. These are to take part in a Bomber Task Force mission that has been planned for some time.

According to a statement by the US Air Force, this is a joint maneuver by US European Command and US Strategic Command. These types of exercises are carried out according to their own statements on a regular basis. 

En route to RAF Fairford, US bomber planes will be integrated with British Typhoon aircraft and Portuguese F-16 aircraft currently assigned to NATO's Icelandic Air Policing Mission. Bomber aircraft were also integrated with British Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) to conduct bilateral Close Air Support training. The mission focused on improving readiness and interoperability for the controllers responsible for coordinating airstrikes in support of ground forces.

"Faced with an ever-changing global security environment, it is critical that our efforts are united with our allies and partners," said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of USAFE-AFAFRICA. "We train and cooperate together in Europe, because through consistent integration we strengthen our common air power."

This rotation will see the bombers operate out of RAF Fairford to continue to integrate with our partners and allies. Such rotations have been carried out at regular intervals since 2018.