B-1B Lancer Bombers of the Air Force (Air Force) The United States, during a recent mission in the Black Sea, practiced striking the positions of the Black Sea Fleet (Black Sea Fleet) of Russia located in the Crimea, says the Ukrainian information and consulting agency Defense Express.
The publication notes that near the UK, the American B-1B Lancer conducted the first refueling in the air on the way to the Black Sea.
"And here we can speculate that the US Air Force is working out an algorithm for the emergency departure of its strategic bombers for an instant response to possible crises on the European continent, for example, possible armed provocations of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea," writes Defense Express.
It is noted that the flights of the B-1B Lancer off the coast of Crimea took place against the background of a visit to Kiev by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, in the sky near the Russian borders, American B-1B Lancer were accompanied by Su-30 fighters.
In May, The Drive reported that the F-15E Strike Eagle fighter of the US Air Force for the first time received unobtrusive AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM), designed, in particular, to penetrate the enemy zone of restriction and prohibition of access and maneuver. The publication claims that in this way part of the tasks that are usually performed by strategic bombers, for example, the B-1B Lancer, will be shifted to the aircraft.
Ivan Potapov
