Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1407425
by the Deputy Commander of USAF Europe - Lt. Gen. Steven L. Basham, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Rajmund T. Andrzejczak, and First Deputy of the General Command of the Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Jan Śliwka. The visit to Powidz involved „hot pit" refueling, with the bomber's engines running. This was to shorten the time of visit to the bare minimum. The aircraft was handled by the ground crew of the 9th Bomber Squadron. Then, the aircraft took off to return to its base. Over the Baltic Sea, it was intercepted by the Danish F-16s, then it was refueled over the North Sea (Stratotanker from 100th ARW), and flew to Ørland. There, after another „hot- pit" refueling and crew rotation it took off to carry out a simulated bombing sortie at the Setermoen range, midway between Narvik and Tromsø. As we can see, the landing in Poland was just one of the stages of the complex, convoluted sortie. But it was the most important element of the mission. That landing shall be viewed as a clear signal of the US involvement on the NATO Eastern Flank, showcasing the bombers' capacity to work from air bases closer to the potential frontlines. The current Bomber Task Force rotation is still going on. On March 17th the B-1Bs flying out of Norway were joined by Whiteman AFB's B-2As. During the operations taking place around Iceland, the Spirits were flying out of Lajes. We can only wait now, for another milestone - a visit of the „stealth" bombers in Powidz. AVIATION