Cult Cold-War Era US Bombers Partake in Major Nordic Exercise

This year's edition of Arctic Challenge started on Monday and will last until June 2, featuring one to three American B-52H bombers, all of which are over half a century old.

"They will not land on any of the bases, but participate in a special assignment towards the end of the exercise," the Norwegian Armed Forces said in a statement.

Northern Europe's largest air force exercises will involve more than 1,000 participants and 100 military aircraft from 11 countries, all coordinated by the three host countries. Fighter jets, bombers, transport planes and electronic warfare aircraft will therefore be taking off from Bodø in Norway, Luleå in Sweden and Rovaniemi in Finland. The exercise will feature an array of aircraft, including eight Norwegian F-16s, 16 Swedish Gripens and 12 Finnish F-18s, as well as seven UK Tornado GR4s, eight Swiss F-18s, 12 US F-15s, six French Mirage and three Rafale fighter jets.

"We invited other allied nations, and interest has been very strong," Major Vegard Bøthun of the Norwegian Air Force told Norwegian national broadcaster NRK.

While the Arctic Challenge, which was previously held in 2013 and 2015, is not a NATO exercise as such, but rather part of the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), this year's edition features a number of NATO member states, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Canada, France, Germany and, most importantly, the US. The Arctic Challenge has been gradually increasing its scope from five participating nations in 2013, to nine nations in 2015 and 11 this year.

Historically, 744 copies of the B-52 Stratofortress have been built since the 1950s. Today, the US still operates 76 B-52Hs stationed at Barksdale air base in Louisiana and Minot, North Dakota. The aircraft were produced in 1961-1962, but have since undergone a number of upgrades.

While this is not the first time the B-52s have shown up in Scandinavia, the awe-inspiring bombers, capable of carrying 32 tons of weaponry, are still far from a common sight in the Nordic countries.

In 2015, non-aligned Sweden seemingly sent out a signal when inviting two US B-52s to simulate the dropping of naval mines off its Baltic coast as part of the Baltops exercise. The bombers flew nonstop from the US and back, dropping a payload of simulated mines outside Rävlunda. In Norway, which is a dutiful NATO member, B-52s did not show up until 2016, when they took part in the exercise Cold Response.

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