- On August 29, US Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers trained with British F-35B aircraft for the first time.
- The B-2s are deployed to Royal Air Force base Fairford in Gloucestershire, as part of US Strategic Command's Bomber Task Force Europe, which sends US forces to Europe to train with NATO allies.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
On August 29, two US Air Force B-2 stealth bombers trained with the Royal Air Force's F-35B jets, the first time a B-2 has flown with non-US F-35 aircraft, according to The Aviationist.
The B-2s are part of a team of three Spirit stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force base in Missouri that have been deployed to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire.
The three B-2 Spirit bombers bring with them airmen from the 509th Bomb Wing and the 131st Bomb Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard. The Spirits used the call signs Death 11, Death 12, and Death 13 when they left Whiteman, The Drive reports.
During this deployment, two B-2s also made the aircraft's first visit to Iceland.
B-2s are generally kept at specific bases, including Fairfoird and Whiteman, partly because only a few bases have the necessary capacity to protect the bomber's radar-absorbing stealth covering. But the US military has increased its presence in Iceland as a deterrent to Russian aggression.
Read on to learn more about Thursday's historic flight.