The USAF says such deployments expose aircrew to the forward air bases and operational constraints in geographies where they might someday fly real combat missions.
BTF rotations typically last at least several weeks and in the past have included Boeing B-1B supersonic bombers and flying-wing Northrop Grumman B-2 stealth jets.
The B-52s currently deployed to Europe were drawn from the 20th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron in Louisiana.
The appearance of one of the USA’s most-powerful weapon systems over Eastern Europe comes as Baltic NATO members are increasingly concerned about security.
Donald Trump’s pending return to the White House has fuelled speculation that Washington may soon reduce military and political support for beleaguered Ukraine, providing an opening for Russia to probe the vulnerability of its other neighbours, particularly the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
Moscow is suspected in the recent severing of two undersea fibre-optic cables on the floor of the Baltic Sea, which were discovered cut on 19 November.
The destruction of the cables, which linked Sweden to Lithuania and Finland with Germany, has been decried by European officials as an act of sabotage possibly perpetrated by Russia. The exact cause remains unknown.
Later in the day, the Danish navy appeared to pursue a Chinese-flagged vessel transiting the Danish straits that mark the entrance to the Baltic Sea.
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Publish date : 2024-11-19 08:50:00
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