Whilst the US President may have his doubts over the usefulness and future of NATO, ahead of the organisations 70th anniversary, the US Air Force has sent over a B-52 bomber group.
In a remarkable demonstration, perhaps a show of the US Air Forces commitment to NATO, six of the giant B-52 Stratofortress aircraft, along with over 400 support personnel, to take part in various operations.
The vast long-range bombers that can fly at around 50,000 feet and carry nuclear weapons over long distances, came from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. This deployment is the largest of the type to Europe since the Iraq war when 17 of the big jets were based at RAF Fairford.
"The significance for us is that we're able to get in the airspace and train with our allied partners," said Lieutenant Colonel Mike Esposito, Bomber Task Force Commander. The exact length of the deployment for the training operations and exercises hasn't officially been revealed yet, however, we understand it to be just under two months.
