For the first time ever, the US Air Force has flown all three of its dedicated bomber aircraft together in close formation, alongside several fighter types.
Officially known as a bomber-fighter dissimilar formation, Air Force Global Strike Command is colloquially calling the unique appearance of three bombers and four fighters the “freedom formation”.
Conducted as part of the Hyundai Air and Sea Show in Miami on 24 May, the formation flight was led by a Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, flanked by a Boeing B-1B supersonic bomber and Boeing B-52 heavy bomber.
On the flanks of the formation were a Lockheed Martin F-22 stealth fighter, Boeing F-15C, Lockheed F-16C and Fairchild Republic A-10 attack jet.
While tri-bomber flights have been performed in the past, the air force says this was the first one to also feature fighter aircraft – making for a dissimilar formation.
“Each aircraft played a unique role in demonstrating the comprehensive reach of the US Air Force, from legacy bombers to cutting-edge fifth-generation fighters,” the Pentagon says. “The event underscored the air force’s capability to project force anywhere, any time.”
The same dissimilar formation was repeated over Miami Beach a second time on 25 May.
Within a few years, two of the bombers on display will no longer be flying.
The air force hopes to eventually retire its 18 B-2s and 45 B-1Bs, replacing them with the next-generation Northrop B-21 Raider currently in flight testing.
Air force leaders say they plan to field at least 100 of those new stealth bombers, which feature a flying-wing configuration similar in appearance to the ageing B-2s, albeit with greatly advanced low-observability technologies.
The B-52 meanwhile will continue to serve, with the current fleet of 76 B-52Hs set to undergo a full overhaul and re-engine in the 2030s.
The iconic Vietnam-era bombers will receive a new active electronically scanned radar and see their eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofans replaced with the Rolls-Royce F130, a derivative of the company’s BR725 commercial powerplant.
Once the overhaul is complete, the bombers will be re-designated the B-52J.
The B-52 fleet already has an average age of 63 years, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium, with the type expected to continue frontline service for several decades more.
