{"id":38834,"date":"2018-04-16T18:13:22","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T18:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/16\/air-force-b-52s-shatter-vietnam-era-records-during-two-year-isis-deployment\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:10:28","slug":"air-force-b-52s-shatter-vietnam-era-records-during-two-year-isis-deployment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/04\/16\/air-force-b-52s-shatter-vietnam-era-records-during-two-year-isis-deployment\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force B-52s shatter Vietnam-era records during two-year ISIS deployment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than four decades ago, the Air Force\u2019s iconic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2016\/04\/09\/b-52s-arrive-in-qatar-to-join-bombing-campaign-against-isis\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">B-52 Stratofortress<\/a> set records as it pounded North Vietnamese targets during Operation Linebacker II.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But during its recently-concluded two-year deployment to the Middle East to fight the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2015\/08\/23\/inside-the-b-1-crew-that-pounded-isis-with-1800-bombs\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">Islamic State<\/a> and Taliban, the BUFF \u2015 or \u201cBig Ugly Fat Fellow\u201d \u2015 smashed through those milestones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to an April 12 release from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/04\/03\/air-force-b-1b-lancers-return-to-al-udeid-after-2-year-absence\/\">U.S. Air Forces Central Command<\/a>, the 23rd Bomb Squadron from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota last June launched its 400th consecutive B-52 mission without a delay due to maintenance problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This broke a B-52 streak that stood since December 1972, when the Air Force carried out 11 days of massive bombing in North Vietnam. Air Force Global Strike Command said Tuesday that during the first three days of Linebacker II, 312 sorties were launched without a maintenance cancellation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, which arrived in September 2017, then launched 834 straight B-52 missions without any maintenance cancellations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 69th flew its last Stratofortress mission of that deployment April 7, before the bombers departed April 11 to return to Minot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two B-1B Lancers arrived March 31 to replace the departing B-52s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B-52s flew more than 1,850 missions from Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and dropped nearly 12,000 bombs. Stratofortresses were among the aircraft dropping massive amounts of bombs on Mosul, for example, during the campaign to push ISIS out of the key Iraqi city.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/news\/your-air-force\/2016\/04\/22\/watch-a-b-52-bomb-an-isis-weapon-facility-for-the-first-time-in-iraq\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"211\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635968680152912355-screen-shot-2016-04-21-at-83922-pmpng.png?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Watch a B-52 bomb an ISIS weapon facility for the first time in Iraq<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Only in the Middle East for a few weeks, U.S. Air Force B-52s called to the fight against the Islamic State group have received glowing praise from officials who yearned for their precision-guided bombs. And they&#039;re delivering.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe discipline and professionalism of the B-52 aircrew and maintenance has lived up to the legacy of the B-52 itself,\u201d Brig. Gen. Jason Armagost, commander of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, said in the release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUpgrades to communications and precision munitions delivery has only added to the legacy of this great bomber and the crews that operate it and maintain it deserve all the credit for the volume and effectiveness of the incredible airpower they delivered these last two years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">AFCENT said air operations by coalition aircraft, including the B-52, were central in the effort to corner ISIS in Syria\u2019s Middle Euphrates River Valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey are on the run,\u201d Lt. Col. Daniel Lambert, director of operations for the 69th, said in the release. \u201cWe prevented an ISIS resurgence by sweeping the areas that have been retaken, preventing a reinfestation. The more we\u2019ve been able to take them out, the harder it has been for them to recruit new forces, because new recruits know the only thing awaiting them on the battlefield is death.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52-conventional-rotary-launcher.JPG.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-71579\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52-conventional-rotary-launcher.JPG.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52-conventional-rotary-launcher.JPG.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52-conventional-rotary-launcher.JPG.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52-conventional-rotary-launcher.JPG.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A B-52 bomber sits on the flightline at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar with a newly-installed conventional rotary launcher in its bomb bay on Nov. 17, 2017. The new launcher allows B-52s to carry more smart bombs. (Staff Sgt. Patrick Evenson\/Air National Guard)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With ISIS driven out of its major strongholds, AFCENT last November refocused its airpower on Afghanistan. The 69th that month became the first B-52 squadron to use the upgraded conventional rotary launcher \u2015 which allowed the bombers to carry eight more smart munitions inside its bomb bay, a 50 percent increase \u2015 in combat operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The B-52 used that upgraded launcher to help AFCENT destroy nearly 70 Taliban drug labs and other narcotics-related targets, containing tens of millions of dollars worth of drugs, since November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">B-52 aircrews also averaged 400 to 450 hours during six to seven month deployments last year, during the heaviest fighting against ISIS and the Taliban. That is almost three times as much as the 300 flight hours B-52 crews typically fly during an entire year, AFCENT said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou always hope you leave the place better than when you found it,\u201d 69th Commander Lt. Col. Paul Goossen said. \u201cI think we are leaving the theater better, with ISIS nearly defeated and almost no territory or people under their control anymore.\u201d<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More than four decades ago, the Air Force\u2019s iconic B-52 Stratofortress set records as it pounded North Vietnamese targets during Operation Linebacker II.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":50476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":67,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,16,26,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3320],"class_list":["post-38834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-news","category-newsletters","category-your-air-force"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"INULFDPQ4JEEXK44NQXBGQEFFI","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-air-force\/2018\/04\/16\/air-force-b-52s-shatter-vietnam-era-records-during-two-year-isis-deployment\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Air Force B-52s shatter Vietnam-era records during two-year ISIS deployment - Air Force TImes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than four decades ago, the Air Force\u2019s iconic B-52 Stratofortress set records as it pounded North Vietnamese targets during Operation Linebacker II.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Air Force B-52s shatter Vietnam-era records during two-year ISIS deployment\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"More than four decades ago, the Air Force\u2019s iconic B-52 Stratofortress set records as it pounded North Vietnamese targets 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