{"id":50483,"date":"2021-01-28T19:08:30","date_gmt":"2021-01-28T19:08:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2021\/01\/28\/air-force-b-52s-conduct-third-bomber-task-force-mission-in-middle-east-this-year\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T09:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T09:29:22","slug":"air-force-b-52s-conduct-third-bomber-task-force-mission-in-middle-east-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/flashpoints\/2021\/01\/28\/air-force-b-52s-conduct-third-bomber-task-force-mission-in-middle-east-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Force B-52s conduct third Bomber Task Force mission in Middle East this year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress aircrews from the 2nd Bomb Wing completed a long-range, short-duration defensive mission in the Middle East Jan. 27 \u2014 marking the third time the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.airforcetimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2020\/12\/30\/air-force-b-52s-fly-from-minot-to-persian-gulf-in-round-trip-mission-to-caution-iran\/\" target=_blank>bombers have done so<\/a> in the Middle East this year, according to U.S. Central Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The BUFFs departed from Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana to complete the presence patrol mission, which was designed to deter aggression in the region while integrating with with air operations centers and other AFCENT assets, including F-15E Strike Eagles, F-16 Fighting Falcons, KC-10 Extenders and KC-135 Stratotankers, CENTCOM said in a news release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bombers also flew with the aircraft of allies in the region, including Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/your-military\/2021\/01\/17\/us-b-52-conducts-presence-patrol-after-iranian-guard-holds-anti-warship-ballistic-missile-drill\/\" 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=\"169\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/6484328.jpg.jpg?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\">US B-52 conducts \u2018presence patrol\u2019 after Iranian Guard holds missile drill<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A U.S. B-52 conducted a presence patrol in the Middle East on Sunday, a day after Iran held a drill in the Indian Ocean.<\/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\">The U.S. has no plans to take a break from such missions in the coming months after conducting a total of six in the Middle East since November, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/u-s-b-52-bomber-flies-over-persian-gulf-in-show-of-force-against-iran-11611748207\" target=_blank>the Wall Street Journal reports<\/a>, citing U.S. military officials. In fact, more Bomber Task Force missions in the region are scheduled for the spring months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cOur intent is to maintain that enduring defensive posture, to deter any aggression in the region, promote regional security and assure our allies,\u201d a senior military official said, according to the Wall Street Journal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although there have been several explosions in Riyadh recently, Wednesday\u2019s mission had been on the books for weeks and was not completed in response to any specific action, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The U.S. has been on alert for possible attacks by Iran for several months, beginning around the time of the U.S. presidential election in early November and peaking around Jan. 3, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2021\/01\/03\/rally-in-baghdad-marks-1-year-since-iran-generals-death-in-us-drone-strike\/\" target=_blank>the one-year anniversar<\/a>y of the U.S. airstrike that killed Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani. But the cautionary approach continues as the U.S. and Iran forge a new relationship under the Biden administration. The presence of Stratofortresses always carries an element of signal-sending.<\/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\/newsletters\/daily-news-roundup\/2020\/12\/31\/air-force-b-52s-fly-from-minot-to-persian-gulf-in-round-trip-mission-to-caution-iran\/\" 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=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/B-52x.jpg.jpg?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\">Air Force B-52s fly from Minot to Persian Gulf in round-trip mission to caution Iran<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">A senior U.S. military officer said the flight by two Air Force B-52s was in response to signals that Iran may be planning attacks against U.S. allied targets in Iraq or elsewhere in the region in coming days.<\/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\">\u201cWe do know that U.S. policy is evolving with respect to Iran right now, and the new administration will make some decisions over the next while, and I don\u2019t have any particular insight into what those decisions will be,\u201d the senior official said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/u-s-b-52-bomber-flies-over-persian-gulf-in-show-of-force-against-iran-11611748207\" target=_blank>according to the Wall Street Journal<\/a>. \u201cBut if we continue to deter Iranian aggression, it will give policy makers more decision space as they set down policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Previous Bomber Task Force missions this year were conducted on Jan. 8 and Jan. 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAmerica doesn\u2019t seek conflict,\u201d U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, U.S. Central Command spokesman, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.centcom.mil\/MEDIA\/STATEMENTS\/Statements-View\/Article\/2466131\/us-central-command-statement-on-first-bomber-mission-of-2021\/\" target=_blank>said in a news release Jan. 8<\/a>. \u201cThis mission is a measured approach to demonstrate that we are committed to the defense of our forces in the region and are capable of responding to any aggression on short notice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The bomber aircraft departed from Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana for the mission, which was designed to deter aggression in the region.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":94126,"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":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,8,23,93,12,25,67],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3303],"class_list":["post-50483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-flashpoints","category-home","category-middle-column","category-news","category-newsletters","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"E4EYG3GL6RGMZIHTMZ5A4R7HU4","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/your-military\/2021\/01\/28\/air-force-b-52s-conduct-third-bomber-task-force-mission-in-middle-east-this-year\/","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 conduct third Bomber Task Force mission in Middle East this year - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The bomber aircraft departed from Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana for the mission, which was designed to deter aggression in the region.\" \/>\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 conduct third Bomber Task Force mission in Middle East this year\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The bomber aircraft departed from Barksdale Air Force base in Louisiana for the mission, which was designed to deter aggression 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