B-52 Stratofortress bombers have received orders to deploy from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana as part of the US military buildup for a campaign against terrorism, the air force officials said Friday.
The long-range heavy bombers, which can fire air-launched cruise missiles over long distances, are from the air force's Second Bomb Wing and the 917th Wing, a reserve wing that also has A-10 attack aircraft, the air force said in a statement.
B-52 bombers were observed flying from the base Thursday but base spokesmen would not say where the aircraft are going.
In past crisis in the Gulf, B-52s have been stationed in Guam and the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
The workhorse of the US bomber force, the B-52s have been flying for more than 40 years, seeing action during the Vietnam War, the 1991 Gulf War, and 1999 NATO air war in Kosovo -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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