Planespotters gathered at the edge of RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire at sunset yesterday to witness a $2.1bn US B-2 Spirit stealth bomber coming in to land following a recent NATO training mission.
Looking for all the world just
like a UFO, the American-made
B-2 Stealth Bomber is 30 years old and remains the reigning champion among military technology anywhere in the world. It flies in near invisibility and packs a punch that includes the most powerful computer-guided ordinance from conventional and nuclear missiles. If the pilots don't make any mistakes, this is one plane you are not beating in the air anytime soon.
"This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the LORD of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" Isaiah 14:26,27 (KJV)
America is, hands down, the most-powerful nation on the face of the earth that has ever existed, that is an incontrovertible fact. Yet it is also a fact that America appears nowhere in Bible prophecy even though dozens of other nations that exist right now do appear there. So what happens to the mighty America that will render us as a non-player on the biblical end times? It can only be one thing, we turn at some point against Israel and God takes His protective hand off of us. In the time of Jacob's trouble, God will be dealing with nations, and the barometer will be how they treat
His holy land of Israel, and how they treat His chosen people the Jews.
US B-2 Stealth Bomber costing $2.1bn and with call-sign ‘DEATH’ lands at British RAF base after training mission in Iceland as stunned plane fanatics look on
FROM THE DAILY MAIL UK: The nuclear-capable aircraft was involved in a training mission over Iceland when it returned to the RAF base shortly before nightfall. Dozens of planespotters gathered around the airbase's perimeter fence waiting for the stealth bomber's return.
Mr King, 37, from Swindon, Wiltshire, added: 'I’d say roughly it was about 50ft above me. Living fairly local to the air base I am a regular visitor when these exercises take place.' Three of the B2 bombers - which cost $135,000-an-hour to operate - have been involved a a series of NATO training missings.
The planes, which use the callsigns DEATH 1, DEATH 2 and DEATH 3 are temporarily based at RAF Fairford as part of a series of NATO training exercises. The aircraft touched down in Gloucestershire on August 27.
With a 172-foot wingspan and a design that allows them to travel 10,000 miles with only one mid-air refueling, so that they could bypass Soviet air defence systems, they are one of the most deadly warplane models in the sky.
They are a small part of a US fleet of 20 Stealth Bombers, the country's most technologically advanced aircraft ever made, which are based at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. First designed under the Carter Administration, originally 132 were ordered by the United States. However, this was quickly scaled back following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Since then the Stealth bombers have been used in fighting over Kosovo, where they bombed Serbian forces as NATO countered ethnic cleansing in the region, to take out Taliban targets in Afghanistan, and more recently to hit ISIS positions in Syria.
RAF Fairford is classed as a 'forward operating base' for the 509th Bomb Wing in the US European Command area.
During their training missions, the B-2s have flown with RAF F-35s, landed in Iceland at Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland in August and performed hot-pit refuelling training on the Azores. During hot-pit refuelling, ground crew replenish the aircraft's fuel supply while the engines are running.
According to Lt Col Rob Schoeneberg, Bomber Task Force Commander: 'Our Royal Air Force friends are integral to the 509th Bomb Wing mission.
'The beauty of our partnerships is that we get to understand how they see the world. Working alongside international fifth generation aircraft provides unique training opportunities for us, bolsters our integration capabilities, and showcases the commitment we have to our NATO alliance.'
Commenting on the series of exercises, Armed Forces minister Mark Lancaster said: 'NATO is the bedrock of Euro-Atlantic defence, and those secure foundations continue to be reinforced by the training exercises being completed between the Royal Air Force and our special friends in the US Air Force.'
Last week, the B-2s conducted a training mission in the Arctic Circle - the furthest north they have ever operated in Europe, according to US Strategic Command.
READ MORE
The B-2 at 30: Soaring with the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber
Thirty years ago the B-2 Spirit took to the skies. Today, the legendary aircraft is more advanced than ever and forms the backbone of the Air Force's strike and deterrent capabilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment