Three U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit invisible strategic bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons landed at Forward Air Base Fairford in southern England on Thursday, British aviation resources said, publishing photos of their arrival.
According to them, one of the bombers after the transatlantic flight with the call sign MISTY11 arrived in the UK directly from the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Base in Missouri Whiteman. Two more B-2 Spirit with callsign MISTY12 and 13 were transferred to England Thursday night from Lageles Air Base in the Portuguese Azores in the East Atlantic, where they arrived on Monday.
As previously reported by the U.S. European Command, strategic invisible B-2 Spirit bombers were sent to Europe to conduct training flights in this theater of war.
In Europe, “aircraft will perform missions from various military facilities in the area of responsibility of the European Command”, – said the U.S. military.
It was also noted that “deployment of strategic B-2 Spirit bombers in Europe will make it possible to familiarize crew members with the peculiarities of flights in the theater of military operations and demonstrate the commitment of the U.S. to support allies and partners.
“Engaging with our NATO allies and theater partners, as well as with other U.S. Air Force units, will contribute to the readiness of deployed forces as well as strengthen the strong, strategic relationships necessary to meet a wide range of global challenges”, – the press release said.
As reported, last October, the U.S. deployed an aviation team of four B-52H strategic bombers to Forward Base Fairford, UK. During their stay in Britain, the U.S. bombers made a series of training flights, in particular, worked out strikes on training targets at a number of European training ranges of NATO member states. In addition, they conducted flights near Russia’s borders in the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and near Russian bases in Syria.
In late August last year, the U.S. temporarily sent to England three strategic stealth bombers B-2 Spirit. They performed a series of training flights around the British Isles, as well as practiced short refueling stops at so-called jump airfields in Iceland and the Portuguese Azores.