A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft from Barksdale Air Force Base, La., arrives at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, April 9, 2016.(Photo: Staff Sgt. Corey Hook, U.S. Air Force via AP)
U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers arrived at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, on Saturday<span style="color: Red;">*</span>joining Operation Inherent Resolve,
the American-led campaign against the Islamic State.
The deployment marks the first time the Air Force will use<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the Cold War-era warplanes<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana<span style="color: Red;">*</span>—<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in the counter-Islamic State<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fight in Iraq and Syria. The service did not disclose the exact number of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>bombers it deployed.
"The B-52 will provide the coalition continued precision and deliver desired airpower effects,” Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., commander of<span style="color: Red;">*</span>U.S. Air Forces Central Command and Combined Forces Air Component, said in a release.
“As a multi-role platform, the B-52 offers diverse capabilities including delivery of precision weapons and the flexibility and endurance needed to support the combatant commander's priorities and strengthen the coalition team."
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President Barack Obama is underscoring that destroying the Islamic State group is his top priority. He says it remains a difficult fight, but is expressing confidence in victory; adding the group continues to lose ground in Iraq and Syria. (April 5) AP
In March, Air Force officials hinted that the aircraft, affectionately known as the "Big Ugly Fat Fellow,"<span style="color: Red;">*</span>would replace the B-1 Lancers, which returned<span style="color: Red;">*</span>in January.
"There have been recent infrastructure improvements that now allow the necessary support to deploy the B-52 in theater," Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said at an Air Force briefing on March 7.
Despite being the Air Force inventory for more than 50 years, BUFFs<span style="color: Red;">*</span>can drop precision-guided weapons.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Its payload capacity at 70,000 pounds can<span style="color: Red;">*</span>include<span style="color: Red;">*</span>gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision guided (cruise) missiles and joint direct attack munitions.
The service is focusing on a modernization effort to make sure the B-52s stay flying for years to come, potentially as late as 2040, officials have said.
“We’re going to keep the B-52 around. It provides some missions for us that are hard to replicate, primarily the range and payload the airplane provides,” Lt. Gen. James “Mike” Holmes, the deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements, told
Air Force Times on<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Feb. 18.
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