A U.S. Air Force long-range heavy bomber B-52H Stratofortress, accompanied by four Saudi Arabian F-15C Eagle fighter jets, conducted low pass over Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia’s central desert, Nov. 1, 2019.
According to U.S. Air Forces Central Command, the B-52H bomber, deployed from Barksdale AFB, La., is part of a Bomber Task Force operating out of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa.
The aircraft is a long-range strategic bomber capable of delivering massive amounts of precision weapons against any adversary.
The bomber conducted a sortie to the U.S. Central Command area of operations in order to conduct interoperability training with Saudi partners in support of our shared regional security interests.
Strategic bombers contribute to stability in the CENTCOM and U.S. European Command (EUCOM) areas of operation, and when called upon, they offer a rapid response capability for combatant commanders.
This mission to CENTCOM follows the B-1B Lancer mission to PSAB last week, again demonstrating the U.S.’s commitment to the defense of allies and partners.
In October, The Drive also reported that the U.S. Air Force has deployed an unspecified number of B-1B Bone bombers to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, which appears to be the first time the service has deployed these aircraft or any other heavy bombers to that country. This comes two weeks after the Pentagon announced plans to establish a full Air Expeditionary Wing at this base as part of a buildup in Saudi Arabia following unprecedented cruise missile and suicide drone attacks, linked to Iran, on two major oil-related sites in the Kingdom last month.
DETERRENCE | A @usairforce B-52H Stratofortress, accompanied by four Saudi Arabian F-15C Eagles, conducts a low pass over Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 1, 2019. The B-52H, deployed from Barksdale AFB, La., is part of a Bomber Task Force operating out of @HQUSAFEPA. pic.twitter.com/d2TzDou4Hg
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) November 1, 2019