Strategic Routes: US B-1Bs heading to the Gulf avoid French airspace

As we documented in recent days regarding the deployment of the Bomber Task Force (BTF) at the British base of RAF Fairford, the US Air Force’s Rockwell B-1B Lancer strategic bombers are conducting long missions directed towards the Gulf. However, the tracking of the latest sortie highlighted an operational and geopolitical detail of great interest.

Contrary to what happened in previous missions, yesterday’s flight underwent a decidedly marked route change.

The Atlantic route of “MARCO87” and “MARCO88”

As is clearly evident from the radar track, the two B-1s involved in the mission (including the one with registration 86-0120, operating under the callsigns MARCO87 and MARCO88) did not cross continental Europe.

On both the outbound and return legs, the bombers flew a much wider trajectory, flying over the Atlantic Ocean to completely bypass French airspace. The “Lancers” therefore skirted the Iberian Peninsula to the west, making their entry into the Mediterranean Sea through the Strait of Gibraltar, to then cut across the basin south of Italy and Greece and head towards the Middle East.

Has France closed its skies to US bombers?

The failure to use French airspace, which had instead hosted the transit of these aircraft until the day before, raises a crucial question: is this a definitive ban by Paris or a simple operational detour?

At the moment, there are no official statements, but we can outline two main scenarios:

• The political and diplomatic knot: France has historically maintained a certain autonomy in managing its airspace regarding American strategic assets, especially during complex international crises. It is possible that the Elysée has decided to temporarily deny Diplomatic Clearance (military overflight authorization) in order not to be directly associated with, or logistically facilitate, US operations linked to the current situation in the Middle East and the Gulf.
• Operational or procedural reasons: Although less likely in missions of this magnitude, a problem related to the timing of authorization requests or specific operational needs of the mission that required flying in international airspace for a larger part of the journey cannot be ruled out a priori.

At present, it is premature to determine whether the French denial is a definitive political choice for this campaign. Only constant monitoring of future missions departing from RAF Fairford will allow us to understand if the “Atlantic route” will become the new normal for American bombers, or if the mission of MARCO87 and MARCO88 was merely an exception to the rule.