Stunning photos show US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers training with British F-35 fighters for the first time
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Aug 31, 2019, 00:43 IST
Royal Air Force F-35 Lightning jets trained with US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers for the first time on Thursday.
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The B-2 celebrated 30 years of flight this year. Even after three decades, it's one of the world's most formidable combat aircraft — it's capable of dropping both conventional and nuclear weapons.
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But even with decades of experience and missions all over the world, there was one thing that the B-2 had never done: train with a non-US F-35.
The B-2s pictured are deployed at RAF Fairford near Gloucestershire, England.
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“We’re delighted that the USAF and 501st Wing Bomber Task Force are here in the UK and that our F-35 Lightning pilots have the chance to fly alongside and train with the B-2 bomber crews," Group Captain Richard Yates, chief of staff at the UK Air Battle Staff, said in a release. "This is the first time that any other country has done this."
The B-2s are deployed with US Strategic Command's Bomber Task Force Europe, which sends US forces to Europe to train with NATO allies.
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“This flying integration builds on the work of Exercise Lightning Dawn in Cyprus and the visit of RAF F-35 Lightning to Italy in June, where in both cases it had the opportunity to prove itself among other NATO allies who also operate the aircraft,” Mark Lancaster, British armed forces minister, said.