About 150 airmen from US Air Forces in Europe were in Iceland earlier this month with personnel from the US Navy and Canadian, Danish, and Norwegian militaries to take part in exercise Northern Viking 2008. Held Sept. 1-6 at Keflavik, the participants practiced supporting the defense of the island nation. “The exercise is a series of combined air operations, which include high-value defense, offensive, and defensive air operation scenarios,” said Lt. Col. Michael King, 404th Air Expeditionary Group commander. He added, “Although US forces no longer have a permanent presence in Iceland, it is still in NATO’s best interest to ensure Iceland’s continued peace and security.” Among the vast array of hardware assembled for the event, USAFE sent four F-15s from RAF Lakenheath and two KC-135s from RAF Mildenhall, Britain. This was the second Northern Viking exercise since the US military left the island in 2006. (Keflavik report by SSgt. Nathan Gallahan)
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…