[Photo Gallery] A B-52 Stratofortress bomber on a Red Flag mission over Las Vegas

February 6, 2013 Military Aviation

David Cenciotti

The following pictures were taken at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on Jan. 31, 2013.

They show a B-52H Stratofortress assigned to the 20th Bomb Squadron, from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, flying a Red Flag sortie from the famous airport located northeast of Sin City.

The B-52 has eight turbojet engines, each capable of producing 17,000 pounds of thrust, with a top speed of 650 miles per hour. They leave long white contrails over Nevada during the training mission.

The B-52 is entering its sixth decade of service. Nevertheless it remains the backbone of the Air Force bomber fleet.

Image credit: U.S. Air Force

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.