U.S. Air Force deploys three B-52 bombers to Alaska for intercept training

U.S. Air Force deploys three B-52 bombers to Alaska for the first time in three years.

According to a recent service news release, B-52H Stratofortress deployed from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., arrives at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, to conduct Bomber Task Force operations.

The three B-52s from the 96th Bomb Squadron, 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, arrived Sunday at Eielson Air Force Base, near Fairbanks, to train with allies, partners and other U.S. services, an Air Force statement said Monday.

During the mission, one B-52 integrated with F-22 Raptors and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets to conduct intercept training over the Beaufort Sea in support of North American Aerospace Defense Command’s mission to safeguard the sovereign airspaces of the United States and Canada.

“Eielson’s unique location ‘on top of the world’ makes us an ideal site for rapidly projecting airpower anywhere in the northern hemisphere,” said Col. Shawn Anger, Eielson’s 354th Fighter Wing commander. “We’re eager to share our strategic location with the Bomber Task Force while our fighter wing Airmen work alongside them. Together, we’re demonstrating the agility in execution necessary to span the vast distances in the Indo-Pacific and providing a dynamic presence that amplifies our commitment to the INDOPACOM region.”

In line with the National Defense Strategy’s objectives of strategic predictability and operational unpredictability, the BTF enables a mix of different types of strategic bombers to operate forward in the Indo-Pacific region from a broader array of overseas and continental U.S. locations with greater operational resilience.