The United States Air Force and international Allies and Partners successfully completed a Bomber Task Force deployment aimed at strengthening integration and combat readiness.
Four U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers assigned to the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, along with support personnel, deployed for Bomber Task Force 24-3 (BTF 24-3) in late May 2024 at Royal Air Force Fairford, United Kingdom, where they began a series of exercises in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command areas of responsibility.
Nations participating in BTF 24-3included Bahrain, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates the United Kingdom and the U.S.
“The whole concept of the Bomber Task Force is built not only around deterrence, but also ally building,” Lt. Col. Brandon Wheeler, commander of the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (EBS), said in a U.S. Defense Department news release.
During the monthlong deployment, the bombers demonstrated interoperability with allied refueling and fighter aircraft. After landing at Fairford, two of the bombers flew to the Eastern Mediterranean for a bilateral exercise, integrating with Royal Air Force and French Air Force aircraft. In a May 28 exercise, the B-52s flew near Russian airspace, escorted by two Spanish F-18 Hornets, two Polish MiG-29s and five German Eurofighter Typhoons, a spokesman for U.S. Air Forces in Europe told Air & Space Forces magazine. The bombers also conducted maneuvers over the North Sea and practiced striking land-based targets in an exercise with the Swedish Navy.
“BTF 24-3 has been a great success. We executed a diverse set of missions and exercised muscles that we don’t often get to back home,” Wheeler said. “Simply put, we’ve achieved every objective and goal that we came out here to accomplish.”
This focus on integration is critical for partner nation building and maintaining the collective stability of Euro-Atlantic relations, said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ryan Ruediger, 69th EBS director of operations.
“Through multiple iterations of integrating with allies in the region, we learn to work together as seamlessly and efficiently as possible. The missions we’ll fly here allow us to identify limiting factors and increase interoperability to the maximum extent possible,” Ruediger said in a NATO news release. “There is strength in collaboration and integration. We’re all aware there are on-going attempts to introduce rifts into the global world order, but stability is possible when we work together.”
BTF missions are a routine practice for building interoperability among NATO and U.S. Allies and Partners. In March 2024, U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers conducted training operations in Europe, integrating with Typhoons from the U.K. and training with the Czech Republic, Greece and Turkey.
The missions were part of the Defense Department’s Large Scale Global Exercise 2024, a series of all-domain military exercises conducted around the globe. The series, which began in February and ended in June, incorporated nearly 30 wide-ranging exercises and military activities aimed at demonstrating joint and multinational defense cooperation.
“The ability to integrate and work alongside our Allied nations and partners cannot be understated,” Wheeler said. “Building these relationships now is why the NATO alliance will continue to operate as a strong, cohesive force well into the future.”