Three B-52 Stratofortresses assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana in formation after completing missions over the Baltic Sea for Bomber Task Force Europe 20-1, October 23, 2019. US Air Force/SSgt. Trevor T. McBride
Business Insider: 4 US B-52 bombers just got back from a month flying all around Europe — here's what they were up to
* US B-52 bombers and airmen deployed to the UK in October for Bomber Task Force 20-1.
* Bomber Task Force deployments are meant train US aircrews while reassuring partners and deterring foes.
* This rotation, which ended this week, was no different, as US bombers flew all over Europe and into the high north.
Four US Air Force B-52 bombers from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana arrived in England with about 300 airmen on October 10 for a bomber task force deployment.
The bombers were deployed to RAF Fairford to "conduct integration and interoperability training" with partners in the region and to "exercise Air Force Global Strike Command's ability to conduct bomber operations from a forward operating location" in support of US Air Forces in Europe and US European Command.
Amid heightened tensions with Russia after its 2014 seizure of Crimea, bomber task force exercises over Europe are also meant to reassure US partners and to be a deterrent to Moscow — this deployment, like others before it, also saw US bombers fly close to Russia in Eastern Europe and the high north.
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WNU Editor: Besides being an exercise. It also shows U.S. commitment to NATO.
