Summary and Key Points: A trio of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers arrived at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley as part of the latest Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment.
-Accompanied by KC-135R tanker aircraft, the stealth bombers are participating in training and strategic deterrence missions in the Indo-Pacific.
-This marks the first B-2 deployment to Australia since 2022, with the bombers expected to engage in joint exercises with RAAF F-35As.
-The BTF deployment underscores the U.S. commitment to interoperability with allies and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific amidst growing regional tensions.
A trio of United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bombers headed to the land down under, arriving at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley this past weekend, as part of the air service's latest Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment. The long-range strategic bombers were accompanied in the epic flight by two KC-135R tanker aircraft from the Illinois National Guard.
"A Bomber Task Force deployment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, Airmen and support equipment from the 509th Bomb Wing and 131st BW, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, has began at Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024," the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) announced.
"United States strategic bombers can operate in the Indo-Pacific region from a broad array of overseas and continental U.S. locations with great operational resilience," PACAF added. "This deployment is in support of Pacific Air Forces’ training efforts with allies, partners, and joint forces and strategic deterrence missions to reinforce the rules-based international order. The Pacific Air Forces look for every opportunity to train alongside our allies and partners to demonstrate interoperability and bolster our collective ability to support a free and open Indo-Pacific."
Images of the B-2s arriving in Australia were shared by the 509th Bomb Wing (@Whiteman_AFB) on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Back Down Under
This deployment marks the first rotation of the flying wing bombers to Australia since the summer of 2022, while Spirits were also deployed to Guam earlier this year, the first time in more than five years. It was not announced how long the B-2s will remain in Australia, but according to Air & Space Forces magazine, such BTF deployments last two to three weeks, and include "training events with allies in the area to practice interoperability and secondary deployments to other locations to gain experience operating from airfields unaccustomed to supporting a bomber presence."
The U.S. has increased its interoperability exercises with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The deployment of the B-2s comes just weeks after U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptors and RAAF F-35A Lightning IIs took part in a "hot pit" refueling exercise, a key component of the Agile Employment Concept (ACE). That followed the recently concluded Exercise Pitch Black 24, the largest in the military's drill's 43-year history – which drew 20 participating nations and more than 140 aircraft from partner countries.
It is likely that during this BTF deployment, the B-2s will conduct joint operations with the RAAF's F-35As, as such exercises have become increasingly commonplace.
During the July 2022 deployment, the U.S. Air Force flying wing bombers took part in the bilateral "Koolendong 22" exercises, which included drills with the RAAF's F-35As, while Australia's Lightning IIs also participated in the Red Flag exercises for the first time in January at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), Nevada, flying with the B-2s.
It hasn't just been the U.S. Air Force's B-2s that have been logging the miles this year. In May, four U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers from Minot AFB landed at RAF Fairford as part of a routine Bomber Task Force (BTF) deployment, operating with NATO allies under BTF Europe 24-3.
That deployment was part of the air service's ongoing "Large Scale Global Exercise" series.
That same month, B-1 Lancers from the 28th Bomb Wing arrived at Andersen AFB, Guam, for a BTF deployment, integrating and training with allies and regional partners; while in July a pair of B-52s assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing flew from Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, to Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, Romania, as part of the Bomber Task Force 24-4 mission.
The United States Air Force is the only NATO member, and just one of three nations – along with China and Russia – to operate long-range strategic bombers.
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.
