Defending Forward Bases

March 26, 2021 | By Amy Hudson
China and Russia made huge strides in missile technology, while U.S. air base defense has languished. Now the United States is playing catch-up.
B-2s deployed to Europe on March 16, conducting a hot-pit refeuling at Lajes Field, Portugal, before taking off again to conduct bomber task force missions in the region. The undisclosed number of B-2s took off from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., and did the hot-pit ...
B-1s operating in Eastern Europe for a bomber task force continued their tour of the region, deploying to Poland for the first time March 12. The B-1B from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, touched down at Powidz, Poland—the first time ...
The Air Force is now flying MQ-9 Reaper operations from Romania, in a new mission that aims to provide 24/7 intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance coverage in the Balkans. U.S. Air Forces in Europe based the Reapers at the Romanian base in Campia Turzii earlier this ...
U.S. and Israeli troops are practicing ballistic missile defense and collaborative crisis response as part of exercise Juniper Falcon 2021, U.S. European Command told Air Force Magazine Feb. 10. Approximately 300 Defense Department representatives, including American Airmen, are taking part in the two-week-long exercise that ...