Four KC-135s and airmen from the Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing on May 31 returned from a deployment to Andersen AFB, Guam. The unit, based at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, spent three weeks supporting Pacific operations, refueling aircraft stationed and deployed to the area, according to a 161st ARW release. “We were supporting bomber aircraft in the region, which in turn support strategic deterrence,” 197th Air Refueling Squadron Commander Lt. Col. Dean Owen said in the release.
B-52 Stratofortress bombers marked a new first in Operation Epic Fury when some of the BUFFs flew over Iran carrying JDAM-guided gravity bombs, according to people familiar with the matter. The development signals a weakening of Iranian air defenses and a new use for the venerable bomber in the nearly…