The three B-52H and two B-2s bombers that deployed earlier this month to RAF Fairford, England, have concluded their training activities in Europe and are returning home. The bombers completed their training sorties on June 20, states a Royal Air Force release. Air Force Global Strike Command spokeswoman Kate Blais told Air Force Magazine on that same day that the bombers and their support personnel would return to the United States “over the next few days.” Training out of Fairford allows bomber crews to familiarize themselves with the local airspace, command and control, and the tankers they would rely on if they operated from the area in a real-world contingency, said Lt. Col. Brad Cochrane, commander of the 393rd Bomb Squadron, a B-2 unit.
Gen. Kenneth S. Wilsbach said the service must improve its readiness in his first public remarks as Air Force Chief of Staff, made during a ceremony marking his ascension to the service’s top job Nov. 18.
