B-52s Conduct A Massive Carpet Bombing Exercise In Jordan

Joseph Trevithick, War Is Boring: B-52s in Massive Mid-East Carpet Bombing Exercise

But don’t expect the heavy bombers to join the war in Iraq

On May 18, two American B-52H bombers flew non-stop from Louisiana to a range in Jordan, dropped a massive payload of bombs, then turned around and flew back home.

The non-stop round trip — 30 hours and 14,000 miles in total — culminated in the twin bombers blasting a target range in full view of observers and public affairs cameras.

It was a rare display of the bomber’s full combat power. B-52s often fly training missions around the globe, but rarely drop dozens of live bombs. What’s all the more interesting is that it happened a hop and a skip away from Syria and Iraq.

Since August 2014, the United States has led an international air campaign over the two countries. But the U.S. Air Force hasn’t sent any B-52s — for good reasons. Instead, fighter aircraft and B-1 bombers armed with missiles and guided bombs have done most of the work.

WNU Editor: When you deploy B-52s on bombing runs during a Middle Eastern exercise .... you are sending a message. In this case .... the message is to everyone.