Foreign Media Reveals Details of U.S. Bomber Global Deployment

Reference News Network, October 9 According to a report from Al Jazeera on October 6, on the 4th, 12 B-1 bombers took off from RAF Fairford in western England and returned to the United States. The withdrawal of these aircraft signifies the sudden end of the base's role as a forward operating base for the U.S. military's strikes against Iran that began on February 28.

This base is located about 160 kilometers west of London and is the only heavy bomber airfield for the U.S. Air Force in Europe, as well as a key forward combat location for deploying bombers.

U.S. President Trump stated on the 5th that the withdrawal of the bombers was due to "some threats," which he believed were related to Iran. He told reporters at the White House, "So we moved the aircraft a little bit, not very far."

Just hours before Trump's statement, U.S. Secretary of State Rubio downplayed the connection to the aforementioned attack plans, stating that "there's nothing unusual about the rotation," and expressed confidence in the safety of U.S. military bases.

Overview of U.S. Air Force Bombers

The U.S. Air Force has three types of active bombers, with a fourth currently under development.

The B-52 "Stratofortress" strategic bomber is the oldest model. The currently active B-52H variant was produced in the early 1960s. It has a wingspan of 56 meters and can carry approximately 31 tons of munitions, including nuclear bombs and cruise missiles.

The B-1 "Lancer" bomber, which entered service in the mid-1980s, is the fastest of the three active bombers, with a maximum speed of 1.2 Mach. It is equipped with variable-sweep wings that retract backward during high-speed flight. Its conventional payload is approximately 34 tons, making it the U.S. military's bomber with the largest payload capacity, but it no longer carries nuclear weapons. This is the model that was withdrawn from Fairford base.

The B-2 "Spirit" is a flying wing stealth bomber designed to evade air defense systems. Only 19 of this model remain in service. It can carry both nuclear and conventional weapons, including the heavy 13.6-ton "bunker buster" used by the U.S. military in June 2025 to strike Iranian nuclear facilities.

The B-21 "Raider" is a smaller stealth bomber currently in flight testing, with plans for delivery in 2027. The U.S. Air Force plans to replace the B-1 and B-2 with the B-21 over the next 15 years, with the future bomber fleet consisting of the B-21 and upgraded B-52s.

All U.S. military bombers are permanently stationed in the continental United States, with five main bases:

B-52: Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota;

B-1: Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota;

B-2: Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri;

B-21: To be stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota in 2027.

All of these bases have long and wide runways, typically over 10,000 feet (approximately 3,048 meters) in length.

Rotation of Forward Bases

The runway lengths for bombers are comparable to those of large international airports. However, the factors limiting bomber deployment locations are not the runways, but rather safety conditions, munitions storage facilities, and logistical support capabilities.

When carrying out overseas missions, U.S. military bombers rotate through several forward bases. Other important overseas operational points include Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The U.S. maintains bomber deployments at several forward bases and rotates them to allied airports, with each stay lasting several weeks.

In addition, the U.S. Air Force also sends small bomber task forces to allied air force bases, with each stay lasting a few weeks, known as bomber task force deployments. Recent rotations included B-52s deployed to Morón, Spain, B-1s deployed to Ørland, Norway, and Japan's Misawa, as well as B-52s stationed in northern Australia at Tindal in September.

With aerial refueling, these bombers can also take off directly from the continental U.S. to carry out strike missions. During the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran, bombers executed missions with round trips exceeding 30 hours. Each group of three bombers requires six to nine tankers for aerial refueling along the way. (Translated by Liu Zongya)