Bomber Task Force (BTF) is a strategic mission that has been undertaken by the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) of the United States Air Force (USAF) since 2018 to help develop the ability to operate from unfamiliar locations and integrate with allies and partner nations. The BTF is a development of the USAF's Bomber Assurance and Deterrence Missions which began in April 2014. [1] [2] The missions regularly support both Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) and United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) and are conducted by the USAF's strategic bomber fleet of B-1B Lancers, B-2A Spirits and B-52H Stratofortresses.
The Bomber Task Force mission was created as a response to the 2018 National Defense Strategy which called to develop Dynamic Force Employment where the USAF would use its forces to provide "proactive and scalable options for priority missions." [3] The first Bomber Task Force deployment was undertaken by the 23rd Expeditionary Bomb Squadron (23rd EBS) who deployed four Boeing B-52H Stratofortresses to RAF Fairford, United Kingdom, from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, in January 2018. [4] The principal aim of the deployment was to conduct theatre integration. This saw the first co-operation between B-52s and the Lithuanian Special Operations Forces. [5] The 393rd Bomb Squadron (393rd BS) carried out the first BTF in the Pacific region, deploying three Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirits to Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii, between 15 August and 27 September 2018. [6] The aim of the mission was to assess the readiness of the B-2A and its airmen as well as to integrate with the local Hawaii Air National Guard units. [7]
The BTF mission concept was further developed in 2019 with a deployment of six B-52Hs to RAF Fairford in April 2019, with Col. Michael Miller explaining the deployment was to test whether the 2nd Bomb Wing "could pick up [their] wing, send it somewhere, and see if it [could] operate independently on its own." [1] The deployment of six aircraft marked the largest to Europe since Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. [8]
Four Rockwell B-1B Lancers of the 9th BS deployed to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, in May 2020 as part of a BTF mission. [9] It was carried out shortly after the USAF ended its 16-year long 'continuous bomber presence' in Guam in April 2020. [10] [11] Between August and September 2020, the 23rd EBS deployed six B-52Hs to RAF Fairford. [12] Operating from Fairford, three B-52Hs carried out a sortie on 4 September seeing them overfly Ukraine, operating alongside the Ukrainian Air Force and NATO allies, flying close to Russian occupied Crimea. [13] A subsequent mission saw a pair of B-52Hs carry out a simulated attack on Kaliningrad, integrating alongside Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons. [14]
Between February and March 2021, four Rockwell B-1B Lancers from the 9th EBS deployed to Ørland Main Air Station in Norway. [15] A sortie on 12 March saw a B-1B land in Poland for the first time, with a mission being conducted to Powidz Air Base. [16] The BTF also marked the first time a USAF bomber squadron had deployed to Norway from where they operated in the European and Arctic regions. [17]
In February 2022, four B-52Hs of the 69th EBS deployed to RAF Fairford during the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [18] The aircraft stayed at Fairford until April, integrating with European allies and partners amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on 24 February. [19] By 2022, the BTF concept had evolved into a method "to deploy a tailor-built task force of bombers in a Geographic Combatant Command." [19]
The 2023 Bomber Task Force milestones included the first hot-pit refuel missions of B-1B bombers in Turkey and Romania, and a visit to Sweden. [20] [21] B-2 bombers deployed to Keflavik Air Base in Iceland also took part in a hot-pit refuel mission in Norway. [22] As part of the Bomber Task Force 23-3 mission, two B-1B bombers flew on a long range mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina where a low approach flyby was performed over Sarajevo. [23]
The 2024 missions saw the deployment of B-1B bombers for the first time to Sweden at the Luleå-Kallax Air Base as part of Bomber Task Force 24-2 in February. [24] In July, two B-52 bombers were deployed to the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base, which marked the first deployment of US strategic bombers to Romania. The two B-52s were also intercepted by Russian fighters while crossing the Barents Sea but they continued on their course without any incident. [25] On 25 July, the bombers conducted a 32-hour mission to the Middle East, integrating with the United States Marine Corps Forces Central Command before returning to their home base at Barksdale Air Force Base. [26]
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal Corps, the USAF was established as a separate branch of the United States Armed Forces in 1947 with the enactment of the National Security Act of 1947. It is the second youngest branch of the United States Armed Forces and the fourth in order of precedence. The United States Air Force articulates its core missions as air supremacy, global integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, rapid global mobility, global strike, and command and control.
The Air Combat Command (ACC) is one of nine Major Commands (MAJCOMs) in the United States Air Force, reporting to Headquarters, United States Air Force (HAF) at the Pentagon. It is the primary provider of air combat forces for the Air Force, and it is the direct successor to Tactical Air Command. Air Combat Command is headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Joint Base Langley–Eustis, Virginia, United States.
The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in Europe and Africa, and operations and support activities in the U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command's areas of responsibility. It also has a unique mission as the U.S. military's primary liaison to the British government, which is conducted through the command's 3 AF-UK headquarters at RAF Mildenhall, England.
Royal Air Force Fairford or more simply RAF Fairford is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. While being an RAF station, Fairford hosts United States Air Force personnel. Since 2019, the base has played host to a Lockheed U-2S Dragon Lady detachment from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron. It is the USAF's only European airfield for heavy bombers and routinely supports Bomber Task Force (BTF) operations. Its most prominent use in recent years has been as an airfield for United States Air Force B-52s during the 2003 Iraq War, Operation Allied Force in 1999, and the first Gulf War in 1991.
The United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) is a United States Air Force (USAF) major command (MAJCOM) and a component command of both United States European Command (USEUCOM) and United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM). As part of its mission, USAFE-AFAFRICA commands U.S. Air Force units pledged to NATO, maintaining combat-ready wings based from the United Kingdom to Turkey. USAFE-AFAFRICA plans, conducts, controls, coordinates and supports air and space operations in Europe, parts of Asia and all of Africa with the exception of Egypt to achieve U.S. national and NATO objectives based on taskings by the two combatant commanders.
Tactical Air Command (TAC) is an inactive United States Air Force organization. It was a Major Command of the United States Air Force, established on 21 March 1946 and headquartered at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. It was inactivated on 1 June 1992 and its personnel and equipment absorbed by Air Combat Command (ACC).
Morón Air Base is located at 37°10′N5°36′W in southern Spain, approximately 35 miles (56 km) southeast of the city of Seville. The base gets its name from the nearby town of Morón de la Frontera, while it is located inside the municipality of Arahal.
The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers 21,000,000 square miles (54,000,000 km2) and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, The Caucasus, Russia and Greenland. The Commander of the United States EUCOM simultaneously serves as the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) within NATO, a military alliance. During the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch, EUCOM controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base.
The 5th Bomb Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to Air Force Global Strike Command's Eighth Air Force. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The wing is also the host unit at Minot. The 5 BW is one of only two active duty Boeing B-52H Stratofortress wings in the United States Air Force, the other being the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. Also, stationed at Barksdale Air Force Base, and operating the B-52H is a third unit, the 307th Bomb Wing, which is part of the Air Force Reserve Command.
The 97th Air Mobility Wing is a United States Air Force (USAF) unit assigned to Nineteenth Air Force of Air Education and Training Command. It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The wing is also the host unit at Altus. It plans and executes McDonnell Douglas C-17 Globemaster III, Boeing KC-46, and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker pilot and aircrew training, providing formal school initial and advanced specialty training programs for up to 3,000 students annually. The training is done in a three-phase approach: Academic Phase, Simulator Phase, and Flying Phase.
The 501st Combat Support Wing is an administrative support wing of the United States Air Force, based at RAF Alconbury, United Kingdom. It is one of three wings located in the United Kingdom as components of the Third Air Force and United States Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE).
Since 1942 the United States has maintained air bases in the United Kingdom. Major Commands of the USAF having bases in the United Kingdom were the United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), Strategic Air Command (SAC), and Air Mobility Command (AMC).
The Seventeenth Expeditionary Air Force was a numbered air force of the United States Air Force located at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The command served the United States Air Forces in Europe during 1953–1996 and United States Air Forces Africa during 2008–2012. Upon reactivation on 1 October 2008, it became the air and space component of United States Africa Command. In this capacity, Seventeenth Air Force was referred to as U.S. Air Forces Africa (AFAFRICA). 17 AF was reformed in April 2012 to become the 17th Expeditionary Air Force, sharing a commander and headquarters with the Third Air Force. As of March 2022, the Third Air Force is USAFE-AFAFRICA's sole numbered air force, with the 17 EAF having been inactivated in July 2018.
The 398th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe. The 398 AEG may be activated or inactivated at any time.
The 449th Air Expeditionary Group is a provisional United States Air Force unit assigned to the Third Air Force supporting United States Africa Command. It is stationed at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti. It flies missions for Africa Command and Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa, supporting varied U.S. objectives in the area.
Between 1948 and 1992, personnel and aircraft of the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air Command (SAC) were routinely deployed to bases in England. An informal agreement to base SAC bombers in the UK was reached between US General Carl Spaatz, and Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF) Lord Tedder, in July 1946. At that time there were only three bases in the UK deemed suitable for operating Boeing B-29 Superfortresses: RAF Lakenheath, RAF Marham and RAF Sculthorpe. These were airbases that had been extended during World War II when there were plans to use B-29s against Germany. When the Berlin Blockade began in June 1948, two B-29 groups deployed to the UK, but neither was equipped with Silverplate bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons. Nuclear-capable Boeing B-50 Superfortress bombers began deploying in 1949, and nuclear bombs followed in 1950.
The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s, and NASA for over 40 years. The bomber can carry up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons and has a typical combat range of around 8,800 miles (14,200 km) without aerial refueling.
The Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC) is a Major Command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. AFGSC provides combat-ready forces to conduct strategic nuclear deterrence and global strike operations in support of combatant commanders. Air Force Global Strike Command is the Air Force's service component to the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM).
The 496th Air Base Squadron is a United States Air Force Geographically Separated Unit (GSU), stationed on the Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) installation of Morón Air Base, Spain. The 496 ABS is part of the 65th Air Base Group, Lajes Field, Portugal under the 86th Airlift Wing, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.