US Airforce conducts show of force flight through the Middle East.

By: Scott Jackson

February,20th 2025

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February 17 concluded a 24 hour flight for a number of US aircraft that went on a “show of force” mission. Also called a “force projection” demonstration through the Middle East.

Flying out of RAF Fairford, South of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, 2 US B-52 Stratofortress long range bombers made their way south over Europe and into the Mediterranean and then on to the Middle East.

The Bombers were joined by a number of escorts from 4 regional partner nations at various points during its mission as well as at least 2 U.S. F-15 Strike Eagles.

“Bomber Task Force missions demonstrate U.S. power projection capability, commitment to regional security, and ability to respond to any state or non-state actor seeking to broaden or escalate conflict in the CENTCOM region”said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, CENTCOM commander.

While being mainly a power projection mission the bombers also took part in dropping live munitions on several target ranges located in partner nations.

These bombers are apart of the 69th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron that just started the U.S. Air Forces first European bomber deployment for the year. They will fly out of RAF Fairford and are under command of U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFA).

Some of the B-52s in Europe had already been photographed earlier this week when a picture was released by USAFE out of the cockpit of a B-52 showing them flying alongside French Dassault Rafales, Swedish Saab JAS-39 Gripens, and Finnish F/A-18 Hornets,other photos were later released of the the flight. (shown below)

While the U.S. has shown a desire to back away from European security it’s likely that the bomber deployments will, at least for the moment remain. US Allies do not, for the most part, have the ground attack capabilities that aircraft like the B-52, the B-1 and the B-2s can bring (as well as the new B-21 Raider. and interest in training alongside these bomber forces remains high.

This new US administration has taken a step away from the historical U.S. interest in involvement in NATO and European security. The U.S. has been a major player in European security since the early part of the 20th century to the benefit of both sides in most cases. The U.S. provides a large amount of protection from Russian power projection in Europe and in return European allies have been willing to follow the U.S. into its various wars and conflicts as well as just a spirit of general cooperation. The Trump administration has, through Secretary of Defense Pete Hagseth, stated that because of the need for the U.S. to project deterrence into the Pacific against China, the U.S. can no longer focus on European security.

A rumor of a possible withdrawal of US forces from the Baltic region, and possibly further, has been circulating this week after US diplomats met with Russian diplomats in Saudi Arabia during initial peace talks over Ukraine. While Russia might be looking to end this war, they have a focus in the Baltic region and some Europeans view this as the next likely area that Russias military could attempt to force its way into.