Today we tracked another long-range mission by a USAF B-52H Stratofortress over northern Europe, the second operation of this kind in only three days. The aircraft involved was B-52H (reg. 61-0036, callsign DROP96), which departed from Morón Air Base before heading north toward the North Sea.
As already seen during the previous mission, the bomber carried out a complex profile over the Baltic region. DROP96 spent a long time orbiting both near the Kaliningrad Oblast and later close to the approaches of Saint Petersburg, flying repeatedly along NATO’s eastern flank only a short distance from Russian airspace.
The sortie also included two separate air-to-air refuelling events. The first AAR took place over the North Sea with a USAF tanker, while the second was conducted over Lithuania with a Royal Air Force Voyager KC2. Throughout the mission, additional NATO assets were active in the area, including an E-3 AWACS providing airborne early-warning and control support.
After completing its tasks, the B-52H turned southbound and began its long return leg toward Spain, concluding another highly visible show-of-presence mission along the Alliance’s northeastern border.
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