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UNITED KINGDOM – Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford is the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for U.S. Air Force (USAF) Global Strike Command and supports a variety of missions and exercises in which the Minot 5th Bomb Wing and Grand Forks 319th Reconnaissance Wing participate. U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) visited RAF Fairford today to obtain a deeper understanding of the strategic importance of these sites and observe the facilities North Dakota airmen use when deployed in the United Kingdom (U.K.). Cramer attended briefings with wing leadership and U.K. partners, and participated in a tour of base facilities.
“Having a location like RAF Fairford to operate our B-52s and RQ-4s adds to the lethality North Dakota airmen bring to the fight,” said Cramer. “The strong partnership and friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom are essential in addressing the challenges we collectively face. I appreciate the opportunity to see the synergy between our airmen and RAF Fairford.”
RAF Fairford is home to the 501st Combat Support Wing Headquarters and the 420th Air Base Squadron. The 501st Combat Support Wing provides agile combat support enabling Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), global strike, and command, control, and communications (C3) missions for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations. The 420th Air Base Squadron provides mission support to receive, bed down and sustain deployed forces to enable U.S. and NATO warfighters to conduct a full spectrum of flying operations from RAF Fairford.
“The global threat freedom faces from the axis of evil to include China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and their proxies is unlike anything anyone alive has seen, and demands strong alliances unlike anyone alive has seen,” said Cramer. “The U.S. and the U.K. are the heartbeat of the Western Alliance and demonstrate a multiplication of force when friends lock arms around shared values like ours.”
Cramer also viewed where North Dakota defense assets from Minot Air Force Base (MAFB) and Grand Forks Air Force Base (GFAFB) are stationed when deployed to the U.K. MAFB is the only dual-wing, nuclear-capable base in the USAF and operates 26 B-52 aircraft. GFAFB operates and maintains RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft, which provide high-altitude ISR missions.
During the visit, Cramer and his team assessed the quality of life experienced at RAF Fairford and saw firsthand the Lockheed U-2, which provides around-the-clock high-altitude, all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance in direct support of U.S. and Allied Forces.
