THOMAS NEWDICK View Thomas Newdick's Articles
Two
U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth
bombers joined a pair of B-1B Lancer bombers for
a mission off the coast of Iceland yesterday,
taking part in what the Air Force described as “long-range integration in the
High North.” The Spirits had flown from their base in the United States to the
Azores, a Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic, before joining up with
the Lancers that are currently on a first-time deployment to Norway, also a
NATO member, which you can read all about here.
The
three B-2s from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri,
arrived at Lajes Field in the Azores, an important mid-Atlantic staging post,
on March 16. From there, after a “hot pit” refuel and
crew swap, they met up with the B-1Bs from the 7th Bomb Wing at Dyess Air Force
Base, Texas. These Lancers are currently operating out of Norway’s Ørland Main
Air Station, but have also ventured further north in that country, visiting Bodø Main Air
Station above the Arctic Circle for the first time earlier this
month.
U.S. AIR FORCE/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS COLIN
HOLLOWELL
A B-1B assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron takes off from
Ørland, Norway, on March 14, for a previous Bomber Task Force training mission.
At
least some of this latest Bomber Task Force (BTF) mission was flown under the
cover of darkness, allowing the B-1B and B-2 crews to practice “the skills
necessary to fly effective night operations in a new environment,” according
to an Air Force press
release.
“Bomber Task Force missions are
critical to maintaining our global competitive edge,” Air Force Lieutenant
General Stephen Basham, the Deputy Commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe
(USAFE), said. “The importance of providing airmen the opportunity to train in
unique environments can’t be overstated.”
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B-2 STEALTH BOMBER HAS MADE ITS FIRST-EVER VISIT TO
INCREASINGLY STRATEGIC ICELAND (UPDATED)By Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
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RESULTING IN THESE GORGEOUS PHOTOSBy Joseph TrevithickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
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INTERCEPTOR ROTATION IN THE FAR NORTHBy Thomas NewdickPosted in THE WAR ZONE
It also
seems that the Air Force plans to make more use of Lajes Field for distributed
bomber operations in the future. While this is not the first time the stealth
bombers have been there, “the B-2s will rely on the strategically-located Lajes
Field to perform mission-essential tasks during several upcoming BTF sorties,”
the service confirmed in
a press release.
The wider job of BTF missions is to make
visible the United States’ commitment to the NATO alliance as well as signal to
potential enemies the U.S. capability of extended deterrence — described as “a
commitment to deter and, if necessary, to respond across the spectrum of
potential nuclear and non-nuclear scenarios in defense of allies and partners.”
In the
context of the High North, the choice of two different aircraft types on a BTF
mission was likely selected as a signal to Russia, not only across the
strategically vital and increasingly contested Arctic
region, but also in the Baltic and
along Russia’s northwest borders in Eastern Europe, including the heavily militarized
enclave of Kaliningrad.
Although
the four bombers remained a long way from Russian territory or key
installations, their route did take them through the so-called Greenland, Iceland,
United Kingdom (GIUK) gap, a critical gateway between the North Atlantic and
the Norwegian Sea that has been of considerable interest to the major powers in
the region since the Cold War. Russian Navy ships, submarines,
and long-range patrol aircraft routinely pass through here and Russian
Aerospace Forces bombers also fly similar routes when headed toward Western
Europe or the Mediterranean.
CIA
A Cold War-era map showing the GIUK gap.
During
their current deployment to Ørland, the B-1Bs have already conducted maneuvers
with U.S. special operations forces Joint Terminal Air
Controllers (JTAC), as well as their counterparts from Norway
and Sweden. Previous integration with other types has included operating with
four JAS 39 Gripen fighter
jets operated by Sweden, a key partner in the region, but one that is, unlike
Norway, not a NATO member. One of the Lancers also made a debut visit to Poland,
landing at Powidz on March 12 for another “hot pit” refueling, and integrating
with more Swedish Gripens, plus Polish and Danish F-16s.
As we
have discussed before, the fact that B-1Bs are operating out of Ørland,
although located around 300 miles from the Arctic Circle, is a significant
development in BTF posture in itself, with detachments previously having used
RAF Fairford in England, which serves as a dedicated bomber forward operating
location in Europe. Having bombers in Norway brings them much closer to the
Arctic region and also exploits the advantages of
distributed operations, making the bombers less vulnerable and their
missions less predictable.
U.S. AIR FORCE/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS COLIN
HOLLOWELL
A crew chief assigned to the 9th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron marshals a
B-1B at Ørland on March 14.
As for
the B-2, although the aircraft has deployed to Iceland in
the past, back in 2019, amid efforts to increase the number of
operating locations in the region for U.S. bombers, putting both types up
together for a joint mission is a new development in the region.
U.S. AIR FORCE
A B-2 escorted by 48th Fighter Wing F-15C Eagles from RAF Lakenheath in
the U.K. during an Icelandic Air Policing mission in March last year.
All
this is happening against the backdrop of the Air Force’s Arctic Strategy that
was unveiled last summer and which seeks to increase its footprint in the High
North as a means to counter what’s perceived as the growing Russian threat in
the region.
As climate change brings with it
opportunities to exploit natural resources, as well as new maritime trade
routes, the Arctic region’s importance is only growing and, with it, the
potential for confrontation between the relevant powers.
Russian
military activity in the region is now coordinated by the Northern Fleet Joint
Strategic Command that was set up in 2014, and which covers
operations in the Arctic, North Atlantic, and Scandinavia. Its most potent
assets are the submarines and warships of
the Northern Fleet, based on the Kola Peninsula, although Russian military
aircraft, too, are now making more use of forward-located
airfields in the High North.
RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
A Russian Northern Fleet MiG-31 interceptor at Rogachevo airbase,
above the Arctic Circle, earlier this year.
The
combination of the B-1B, which offers long-range conventional strike
capabilities using the AGM-158 Joint
Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, or JASSM, and the AGM-158C Long-Range
Anti-Ship Missile, or LRASM, together with the stealthy and nuclear-capable
B-2 sends a very powerful message. Even in a non-nuclear role,
the B-2 is still a key tool for the U.S. military to conduct very-long range
strikes in denied areas, and being able to operate them from a diverse array of
bases only increases the possibilities of how and where they could be used.
Meanwhile, although the Air Force is now beginning to retire 17
of its B-1Bs, this aircraft, too, has an important place in future plans, not
least in the context of carrying new hypersonic weapons.
Having B-1Bs and B-2s operate together
in the High North makes it abundantly clear that the United States is willing
to bring some of its most powerful air assets to bear in the region should it
have to confront Russian operations in these areas in the future.
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