JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
Airmen with the 305th Air Mobility Wing here took part in a strategic bomber assurance and deterrence operation that involved multiple NATO allies and partners called Polar Roar on July 31.
Four KC-10 Extenders from here refueled three B-52 Stratofortresses from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, near the North Pole to enable the bombers to conduct intercept training with NORAD-assigned fighter aircraft and inert weapon drops at the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex.
“(The mission) went spectacularly well, and we executed the plan to perfection,” said Lt. Col. Rob McAllister, a 32nd ARS aircraft commander.
In all, the 305th AMW KC-10s delivered nearly 300,000 pounds of fuel during their 10-hour sortie.
“Each tanker gave the B-52s roughly 65 to 70,000 pounds of fuel so they could continue on with their part of the overall mission,” said Senior Master Sgt. Mark Barnette, 32nd Air Refueling Squadron boom operator. “We enable aircraft to get anywhere in the world with our refueling capabilities.”
Polar Roar provided training in polar navigation and weapons operations, as well as integration with NORAD and NATO, all while testing the bomber force’s ability to support three synchronized flight paths.
“We had air crew members who wanted to be a part of this rare exception and do this force projection,” McAllister said. “It was very exciting and motivating to have this opportunity to go very far north and help support this mission.”
The operation involved two other non-stop, simultaneous flights of CONUS-based bombers that included B-52s and B-2 Spirits. B-52s from the 2nd Bomb Wing flew nonstop from Nellis AFB, Nevada, to the North and Baltic Seas, where they conducted intercept training with the Portuguese air force and Royal Canadian Air Force fighter aircraft, before returning to Barksdale AFB, Louisiana.
At the same time, B-2s from the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, flew over the Pacific Ocean to Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, where they practiced intercepts with NORAD-assigned fighter aircraft and conducted inert weapons drops at the JPARC.
Polar Roar demonstrated the ability of the U.S. bomber force to provide a flexible and vigilant long-range, global-strike capability, and provided unique opportunities to train with allies and partners.