Some of the B-52s assigned to Minot AFB, N.D., will temporarily be housed at Ellsworth AFB, S.D., while Minot’s runway undergoes repairs, reported the Minot Daily News. The rest of the base’s bombers are slated to deploy with the 69th Bomb Squadron to Guam for six months as part of the ongoing continuous bomber presence there. The center section runway repairs are expected to cost $32.8 million and are the final portion of a three-year upgrade project, slated for completion in October.
The U.S. military is maintaining a beefed-up presence in the Middle East, including fighters and air defense assets, following the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities June 22 and subsequent retaliation by the Iranians against Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.
