A second squadron of A-10s has been deployed to support the United States’ increased deterrence posture, while the BTF appears to be preplanned and unrelated to the recent events.
Additional U.S. Air Force aircraft arrived in Europe and in the Middle East today. In fact, the U.S. Central Command has announced the deployment of 354th Fighter Squadron and their A-10C Thunderbolt IIs in the command’s area of responsibility to support the increased deterrence posture in response to the events in Israel and the Gaza strip.
CENTCOM did not release other info regarding the number of aircraft and the location. The only additional info provided is that the 354th FS joins the A-10s from the 75th Fighter Squadron already in the region, which were deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates, at the end of March 2023.
The 354th Fighter Squadron and their A-10 Thunderbolt IIs arrived in the region to support the U.S.’s increased posture. These aircraft are in addition to the A-10s from the 75th Fighter Squadron already in the region. pic.twitter.com/h3LhEwyeJ4
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 12, 2023
Also today, two B-1B Lancer bombers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, have been deployed to RAF Fairford as part of a new Bomber Task Force. No statements have been released, however the deployment might have been already planned well before the Hamas’ attacks as GloucestershireLive reports that multiple aircraft landed last week at Fairford to transport equipment and personnel.
MOCHA 41 Flt☕️of two B-1s arriving at #RAFFairford today. A video of the arrivals here👉https://t.co/qlZmqAHjvw pic.twitter.com/zb0wrvUbqY
— Saint1 (@Saint1Mil) October 12, 2023
The two bombers were flying with callsigns MOCHA41 and MOCHA42 and were heard on radio contact with Scottish air traffic control returning from an unspecified mission in the Scandinavian area. It appears, just as happened during the last deployment in May, that the two “BONEs” (as the B-1s are nicknamed within the pilot community) entered the European theatre by first integrating with Allies and Partners and then landed at RAF Fairford at end of a long duration mission.
