A B-1B Lancer from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flies alongside two Japanese Air Self-Defense Force F-16 Fighting Falcons during a joint large force exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, Jan. 11, 2022. U.S. Air Force photo.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Jan. 25 to correct the number of B-1Bs that participated in the exercise and the length of the mission.
Two B-1Bs from the 7th Bomb Wing flew over the Indo-Pacific alongside Japanese F-16s as part of a joint large force exercise.
The mission began and ended in the continental U.S. The Lancer bombers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, flew 30 hours and landed Jan. 11.
“A CONUS-to-CONUS mission is proof in the pudding that we can take off from home and make it anywhere around the world to deliver support whenever we’re called upon,” Capt. Carlie Gantar, a 9th Bomb Squadron weapons system officer who took part in the exercise, said in an Air Force press release.
The exercise also served as an opportunity for the B-1 crews to practice integrating with allied assets and a demonstration of U.S. commitment to partners in the region.
“Any chance that we get to work with the from the [Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF] is an amazing opportunity,” Gantar said. “The experience the crew members receive, in every aircraft, and the training accomplished speaks to how well we can work together as a team, whether it’s a training sortie or the real deal.”
The mission to integrate with the JASDF comes a little more than a year after a similar exercise in January 2021, during which crews from the 345th Bomb Squadron flew B-1Bs to the Indo-Pacific, integrated with JASDF aircraft, and flew back, staying in the air for more than 30 hours.
A few months later, B-1s from Dyess flew to Europe in March as part of a Bomber Task Force mission, landing in Norway, Sweden, and Poland. In October and November, four B-1Bs from Dyess took part in another Bomber Task Force deployment, flying to RAF Fairford, U.K.
Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org
The Air Force has officially decided the B-21 Raider will fly with a two-pilot air crew—and it may draw from the ranks of weapon system and combat systems officers to fill those roles.
The Pentagon is looking for industry’s ideas for lower-cost, attritable drones that can fly in groups and take on some of the missions that MQ-9A Reapers have performed.
Just over a year after becoming the 27th Secretary of the Air Force, Troy Meink believes he’s making progress on his top priorities—increasing Air Force readiness, modernizing its aircraft fleet, and growing the nascent Space Force. In a June 26 interview with Air & Space Forces Magazine, Meink acknowledged headwinds but said the proof of his progress is in the fiscal 2027 budget now working its…
Since U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich became NATO’s top military officer in July 2025, the alliance has contended with Russian drone incursions and hybrid warfare against its members and Moscow’s continued aggression in Ukraine. Now the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, a career fighter pilot, is trying to guide…
The U.S. carried out a series of fresh airstrikes against Iran on July 7 as the tenuous ceasefire between the countries again broke down over disputes over the Strait of Hormuz.
As President Donald Trump and other alliance leaders gather for the long-awaited NATO summit meeting in Turkey, a pressing question is how the alliance adapts as Europe seeks to replace long-standing American air warfare capabilities.
The Air Force Point Defense Battle Lab is searching for more defense firms to demonstrate counter-drone capabilities at upcoming exercises designed to test base defenses against unmanned aerial attack.
Multiple delays have pushed the full-rate production decision on the T-7A Red Hawk back two years to 2029, the Government Accountability Office said in a new report. The assessment is another setback for the Air Force's next-generation trainer aircraft.
