USAFE, the Bodø deployment was not the only European debut
made by the B-1B. On March 12th a two-ship formation took off
(1000 ZULU) to take part in Operation Spring Spear. Initially,
the event was to take place on March 11th. However, it was
postponed 24 hours, due to the severe weather. The aircraft, one
of which was forced to RTB, flew towards the Swedish airspace,
where they met two Gripens. These escorted the 86-117 jet over
the Baltic Sea, where it was intercepted by a two-ship formation
of Polish F-16s, flying out of the 31st AB in Poznan-Krzesiny. A
few minutes before 2 PM the formation appeared over the runway
of the 33rd Airlift Base in Powidz - the final destination.
The selection was quite obvious, as the
base has been, since 2014,
i n t e n s e l y
used by the American forces to hold the regular Aviation
Detachments (C-130Js), or occasional deployments of even the
most sensitive aircraft. Powidz hosted a couple of F-22A Raptors
for a couple of days for instance, back in 2018. Above all, the base
is hosting helicopter rotations within the framework of Operation
Atlantic Resolve. Currently, Powidz is awaiting the arrival of
elements of the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, subordinated
to the famous 1st Infantry Division.
The B-1B landing was
observed
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