B-2s head to Portugal as surprise bomber flights spread 4 days ago Air Force Senior Airman Tony Nogales, left, and Airman 1st Class Byron Humphrey, 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron crew chiefs, conclude preflight checks in support of a bomber task force at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., March 16. (Staff Sgt. Sadie Colbert/Air Force) Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers arrived at Portugal’s Lajes Field Tuesday, the service said this week, joining the B-1 Lancer bombers that are flying short-notice missions to project a strong front out of Europe. An undisclosed number of B-2s from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, “add even more depth” to bomber task force flights run by U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa, the organization’s commander, Gen. Jeff Harrigian, said in a release Wednesday.
This may be the new B-21 Raider stealth bomber s first outdoor hangar Oriana Pawlyk , Northrop Grumman/US Air Force
The Air Force has built a prototype shelter for the new B-21 bomber at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota.
It is one of a few mock-ups that the service is testing to find the most effective and affordable option for the bomber.
The US Air Force has begun constructing prototype shelters in anticipation of someday housing its next-generation bomber, B-21 Raider.
The service has erected a temporary prototype Environmental Protection Shelter at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota, one of a few mock-up models that Air Force Global Strike Command and the B-21 Program Office are testing to find the most effective and affordable option for the Long Range Strike Bomber, according to release.
These flights of strategic bombers assure allies and partners while deterring near-peer competitors.
Air Force B-1 bombers have gone to India and Norway as part of the service’s massively stepped-up Bomber Task Force (BTF) global operations, intended to further solidify international partnerships, interoperability and conduct high-impact deterrence missions intended to reassure U.S. allies amid ongoing threats posed by Russia and China.
Bomber Task Forces, a longstanding U.S. Air Force practice, are expanding in size, scope and frequency, often extending to less visited parts of the globe such as the Arctic and parts of Western Asia. These Task Forces often include B-1s, B-52 and B-2 to demonstrate force and resolve, particularly in high-threat contested areas such as the South China Sea area parts of Eastern Europe.
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March 8, 2021
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. Air Force Global Strike Command recognized Women’s History Month by coordinating all-female alert crews to dispatch to the missile field, and all-female bomber crews at some of its bases.
In 2021, all three intercontinental ballistic missile wings are posting women to the field on alert for International Women’s Day, March 8. In addition, bases across the command will have all-female command post teams, maintenance teams, and helicopter and security forces crews as well.
“It is important for us to recognize the important role women play in our military today, and International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to do that,” said Col. Anita Feugate Opperman, 341st Missile Wing Commander. “When I came in 27 years ago, we would have barely been able to put together a couple of female crews, and now we are doing it across all three missile wings as well as some of our bomber wings as well. We want the American public to k