US Sends Bomber Task Force to Iceland
The task force will spend the next couple of weeks conducting exercises with allied nations.
REUTERS/USAF/John Lasky GN
A Bomber Task Force (BTF) from the US Air Force deployed to Iceland yesterday 13 August, according to a press release from the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The task force will conduct exercises with allied nations in Northern Europe, and will be operating out of the Keflavik airport. The BTF includes three nuclear-capable B-2 Spirit aircraft which are accompanied by some 200 airmen. This is the third time that a BTF of this type has deployed to the country.
The deployment of the aircraft to Iceland is conducted on the basis of the 1951 Bilateral Defense Agreement between Iceland and the United States, and the ministry said that the exercise constituted an important contribution to deterrence activities in Northern Europe.
The BTF will be temporarily deployed to the Security Zone at Keflavik for the next few weeks. The Icelandic Coast Guard supports the deployment on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in close cooperation with Icelandic civil aviation authorities.
