Six US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber aircraft will be overflying all 30 NATO Allies today.
As four US strategic bombers fly over Europe and two over North America for this long-planned event, named ‘Allied Sky’, they will be accompanied by around 80 fighter aircraft from across the Alliance, providing an opportunity to boost Allies’ ability to train and operate alongside each other.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was quoted as saying:
“Today’s training event demonstrates the United States’ powerful commitment to NATO, and Allied solidarity in action. As US bombers overfly all 30 NATO Allies in a single day, they are being accompanied by fighter jets from across the Alliance, boosting our ability to respond together to any challenge. Training events like this help ensure that we fulfil our core mission: to deter aggression, prevent conflict, and preserve peace.”
Aircraft from 20 NATO Allies are expected to fly alongside the US bombers: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.
That must be quite a sight!
And new engines on the way too! Built in the early ’60s and still flying.
https://www.rolls-royce.com/products-and-services/defence/aerospace/combat-jets/f130.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=B52_AWS2020
Unlikely Rolls Royce will win this contract. Rolls Royce doesn’t provide a single jet engine to the US Military. They are up against GE and P&W.
As RR points out on the page Nigel linked:
“The F130 powers the C-37 and E-11 BACN aircraft in the USAF fleet”
Adour in the Goshawk, Pegasus in the AV8B, any number of Allisons (now part of RR) in C130s . . .
It is a bit of a problem for some on the other side of the Atlantic to see past their conceited sense of their own self-importance. I remember the cries of anguish when Damian Lewis was discovered to be English….and as for Daniel Day-Lewis! But these are American icons not Limey Nancy-boys! Accepting that other nations can be as good as you….if not better, is not something that can be accepted by some!
Yes, but where and when?