{"id":56099,"date":"2024-06-03T21:35:08","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T19:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=56099"},"modified":"2026-06-03T01:54:45","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T23:54:45","slug":"fighters-from-spain-and-other-allied-countries-escort-b-52-bombers-over-europe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/06\/03\/fighters-from-spain-and-other-allied-countries-escort-b-52-bombers-over-europe\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighters from Spain and other allied countries escort B-52 bombers over Europe"},"content":{"rendered":"

On May 22, four B-52H Stratofortress bombers of the US Air Force (USAF) arrived at RAF Fairford, England.<\/p>\n

The icy deployment of the Spanish EF-18 and A400M planes under the snow in Lithuania<\/a><\/rel>
\nThe visit of the Civil Guard to the B-52H 'Wise Guy' bomber on its deployment in Spain<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

As reported<\/a> by NATO Air Command (AIRCOM), this deployment is part of the Bomber Task Force (BTF) Europe 24-3<\/strong>, and its mission is to integrate with NATO allies and others international partners \"to synchronize capabilities and assure security commitments across the U.S. European Command area of responsibility.\"<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

AIRCOM adds: \"bombers provide strategic predictability and assurance for Allies and partners<\/strong> while contributing to deterrence by introducing greater operational unpredictability for potential adversaries.\"<\/em> All this in a scenario of instability in Europe due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine<\/strong> and Russian threats and provocations against allied countries.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The BFT 24-3 is generated by the 69th Expeditionary Bombardment Squadron \"Knighthawks\"<\/strong>, based at Minot AFB, North Dakota. Yesterday, the US Armed Forces multimedia site DVIDShub.net published a series of photos<\/a> taken by Staff Sergeant Emily Farnsworth that show the flight of these B-52s over several countries in Europe in the company of fighters from several allied countries<\/strong>, among them Spanish EF-18M. You can see them below.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The two EF-18M fighters of the 12th Wing of the Air Force that flew alongside the B-52H.<\/strong> They are the C.15-44 (12-02) and the C.15-50 (12-08). As we see in the image, both carried AN\/AAQ-28(V) LITENING designators on their ventral supports and AIM-2000 IRIS-T medium-range air-to-air missiles on the marginal supports of their wings, in addition to AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles on its fuselage supports and external fuel tanks under the wings.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Another photo of the two Spanish EF-18Ms.<\/strong> The USAF has not indicated the places where these photos were taken, but they are surely the Spanish EF-18M deployed in \u0160iauliai, Lithuania<\/a>, on a NATO Baltic Air Police (BAP) mission. Wing 12 is based in Torrej\u00f3n de Ardoz, in the Community of Madrid. These photos of the EF-18M were taken on May 28.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The two Spanish EF-18Ms in an image in which we see the starboard engines of a B-52H.<\/strong> These old and effective bombers, already with many years of service, have the best operational index of the USAF strategic bomber fleet, surpassing the more modern B-1B Lancer and B-2 Spirit. For this reason, the B-52H fleet is being updated to the B-52J version, with new Rolls Royce F130 engines, an improved radar and more modern communications equipment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A MiG-29 from the 41st Tactical Aviation Squadron (41.ELT) of the Polish Air Force<\/strong> escorting the B-52s on May 28. The 41.ELT is based in Malbork, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship (northern Poland). The Polish MiG-29s are in the process of being replaced by FA-50 Golden Eagle light fighters manufactured in South Korea.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Two F-35As from the USAF 48th Fighter Wing<\/strong> during a joint flight with B-52Hs on May 29. These American fighters are based at RAF Lakenheath, England.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Two photos released by the Luftwaffe<\/a> showing German Eurofighters escorting B-52Hs over Lithuania<\/strong> on May 28. These German aircraft are currently deployed in Lielv\u0101rde, Latvia, on a BAP mission. The aircraft are assigned to Jagdgeschwader 74 (JG 74, 74th Tactical Fighter Wing), based in Neuburg, Bavaria.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

---<\/p>\n

Photos: U.S. Air Force \/ Luftwaffe.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On May 22, four B-52H Stratofortress bombers of the US Air Force (USAF) arrived at RAF Fairford, England.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19536,11546],"tags":[22050,19305,16093,3546,1104,22047,1248,22049,7072,2678,1239,6446,14051,11875,6761,12945],"class_list":["post-56099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-we-said-yesterday","category-military-aviation","tag-41st-tactical-aviation-squadron-of-the-polish-air-force","tag-48th-fighter-wing","tag-69th-bomb-squadron-knighthawks","tag-ala-12","tag-boeing-b-52-stratofortress","tag-bomber-task-force-24-3","tag-eurofighter-typhoon","tag-jagdgeschwader-74-jg-74","tag-lockheed-martin-f-35-lightning-ii","tag-luftwaffe","tag-mcdonnell-douglas-ef-18-hornet","tag-mikoyan-gurevich-mig-29","tag-polish-air-force","tag-spanish-air-force","tag-united-states-air-force-usaf","tag-vilkas-detachment"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-12 08:31:41","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}