Air Force Global Strike Command B-2 and B-52 bombers staged deterrent operations from RAF Fairford, Britain, as part of ongoing NATO and US Strategic Command exercises in the region. The B-2s conducted hot-pit refueling and crew change, demonstrating rapid regeneration from a forward location on their brief stopover at Fairford on June 7, according to a release. Three B-52s from Minot AFB, N.D., are simultaneously operating from Fairford in support of exercises Baltops and Saber Strike, according to a second release. The 5th Bomb Wing B-52s were originally slated to fly nonstop sorties from the United States to take part in a scenario off the Swedish coast during NATO’s Baltops. The bombers are now also flying ground-support training over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as part of the US Army Europe-led Saber Strike exercise that runs through June 19. “This deployment to RAF Fairford was specifically designed … to ensure maximum opportunities to synchronize and integrate our bomber capabilities with [allied] military assets,” explained STRATCOM Commander Adm. Cecil Haney. Baltops goes to June 20.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
