A fleet of B-52 bombers based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana lined the runway ready for takeoff in a display of air power and American military might.
A group of eight of the Boeing Stratofortress' were pictured on October 14 in what is known as an 'Elephant Walk'.
An elephant walk is a procession of military aircraft taxiing close in formation right before a minimum interval takeoff.
The long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber has been operated by the United States Air Force since the 1950s.
The USAF stated in a tweet that the aircraft was still a staple and 'the most flexible part of the military's nuclear triad' - the combination of nuclear-armed land-based missiles, submarine-based missiles and manned bombers.
The images released by the U.S. Air Force show the eight strategic bombers each lined up perfectly on the runway as they prepare for take off.
Very few details have been released by the Air Force about the maneuver however after taking off from Barksdale they landed at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, home of another Stratofortress unit.
Training events such as this test the readiness of air crews and aircraft that require a rapid launch.
Using a 'cart-start' technique in which a small-controlled explosive is placed into two of the eight engines of the bomber, the charges jumpstart the engines cutting the time the planes startup time from more than an hour to less than 10 minutes.
The B-52's nuclear option of choice is the AGM-86B air-launched cruise missile, commonly referred to as the ALCM.
The B-52H with a weapons payload of more than 70,000lb is capable of carrying the most diverse range of weapons of any combat aircraft.
No comments:
Post a Comment