B-52 Stratofortress to fly over Prague as part of NATO Days

An American B-52 Stratofortress will fly over Prague as part of NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days, which will take place September 19–20 at Leoš Janáček Ostrava Airport in Otrava.

A KC-135 Stratotanker from Nebraska and four F-16 Fighting Falcons from European bases will accompany a B-52 Stratofortress that will fly a non-stop round-trip directly from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

The crew will endure an almost 30-hour journey without landing, during which they will conduct air-to-air refueling from the KC-135.

“Dynamic aerial demonstration of American and Czech Air Force aircraft over the airport in Mošnov, which traditionally hosts NATO Days in Ostrava, is symbolic to express American support for its reliable ally,” US Embassy spokesman Griffin Rozell said.

Zbyněk Pavlačík, the chairman of security organization Jagello 2000, called the B-52 an icon  and a symbol of NATO Days. “We can hardly imagine the event without the presence of this extraordinary aircraft. We are more than happy that the US Air Force decided to make the fly over the Mošnov Airport and cities of Prague and Plzeň so that more people can watch how the sky is filled with the wings of the American giants,” he said.

Close cooperation with the United States began in 1993, before accession to NATO in 1999. “It is gradually expanding, not only in the area of training, but also in the field of equipment. The last such project is the purchase of 12 Viper and Venom helicopters,” Czech Defense Minister Lubomír Metnar said

Czech General Aleš Opata, chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army, said the country has great long-term cooperation with the US military. “We work together in foreign operations, organize exercises and cooperate on the education system. We have years of working with the Texas and Nebraska National Guard. Regular joint exercises include the ongoing Ample Strike,” he said.

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress — a long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber — made its first flight in 1952 and went into service in 1955. It has a range of more than 14,080 km without aerial refueling.

It was built to carry nuclear weapons in the Cold War-era, but in combat so far it has dropped only conventional munitions. As of June 2019, 58 are in active service, 18 in reserve, and approximately 12 more aircraft in long-term storage. The airplanes are expected to be in service into the 2050s.