THE arrival of the B-52 bombers at RAF Fairford last week caused a lot of interest both locally and nationally.

And thanks to a press briefing held today (March 19) at RAF Fairford we now understand a lot more about what is behind the appearance of the bombers, and where they have come from.

Operationally, this rotation is the largest deployment of a single bomber platform since 2003 for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The United States Air Force's (USAF) principal spokesperson was Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian, deputy commander, United States Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa.

Also on hand to explain the current deployment were 501st Combat Support Wing and 2nd Bomb Wing leadership.

It was explained that the Bomber Task Force arrival of B-52 Stratofortress aircraft, airmen and support equipment came from the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

The deployment means RAF Fairford will remain United States Air Forces forward operating location for bombers in Europe.

They will also train together in Europe to improve the bomber operability.