Two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth AFB, S.D.’s 28th Bomb Wing deployed to Luleå-Kallax Air Base, Sweden, to train with Swedish Air Force Saab JAS 39 Gripen fighters on Feb. 23 in what marked the first multi-day deployment of U.S. bombers to Sweden, U.S. Air Forces Europe (USAFE) said on Feb. 27.
The “Vanguard Adler” training mission was part of Bomber Task Force (BTF) 24-2 and tested the integration of the B-1 with the Gripen fighters and joint terminal attack controllers in the Arctic and Baltic regions. The mission comes as Sweden edges closer to formally joining NATO after Hungary’s parliament approved its bid on Monday. That clears the way for Sweden to become the 32nd nation in NATO.
“The exercise included surface attack, air interdiction, and close air support scenarios, all aimed at building partnerships and increasing readiness,” USAFE said.
On Feb. 2, Dyess AFB, Texas-based B-1s were among aircraft that released munitions targeting more than 85 Iranian-linked sites at seven sites in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command said (Defense Daily, Feb. 5).
U.S.-based B-1Bs saw first use on March 27, 2011 during Operation Odyssey Dawn after flying about 12 hours from snowbound Ellsworth to Libya, where they struck nearly 100 targets in two days, the Air Force said. According to mission planners, “the B-1 was the only aircraft that could meet the demands of the mission, such as the timeframe and the number of weapons required to hit that many targets,” the Air Force said at the time.
B-1Bs from Ellsworth and Dyess routinely fly Bomber Task Force training missions overseas, the Air Force said.
Air Force Lt. Col. Benjamin Jamison, the BTF 24-2 lead and the 37th Bomb Squadron’s director of operations, said in the Feb. 27 USAFE statement that the Swedish exercise “demonstrates our ironclad commitment to our partners and allies, demonstrates our expansive reach, and sends a strong deterrence message to potential adversaries.”
USAFE said that sortie generation “from locations like Luleå is a key focus area for U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa” and that, through BTF missions, “USAFE-AFAFRICA enables dynamic force employment in the European theater, providing strategic predictability and assurance for allies and partners while contributing to deterrence by introducing greater operational unpredictability for potential adversaries.