Home Air More B-52 bombers arrive in Middle East to support Afghanistan drawdown

More B-52 bombers arrive in Middle East to support Afghanistan drawdown

B-52H Stratofortress in Qatar
A B-52H Stratofortress aircraft assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrives May 4, 2021, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar. Photo: US Air Force

The US Air Force has deployed two additional B-52H Stratofortress bombers to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, from where they will support what the Pentagon refers to as an orderly and responsible withdrawal of US and coalition forces from Afghanistan.

The bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived in Qatar on May 4.

The bombers join the four B-52 aircraft that previously arrived to Al Udeid in late April.

Since US president Joe Biden announced the decision to “end America’s longest war,” and bring troops back from Afghanistan on April 14, the US armed forces have retrograded the equivalent of approximately 60 C-17 loads of material out of Afghanistan.

Aircrew assigned to Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, carry their gear into a C-17 Globemaster III assigned to Joint Base Charleston, South Carolina, April 27, 2021. Photo: US Air Force

The personnel also turned over more than 1,300 pieces of equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency for destruction.

The Central Command also revealed in an update on May 4 that the US officially handed over the New Antonik facility in Helmand to the Afghan National Army.

Officials estimate that between 2 and 6 percent of the entire retrograde process has been completed so far.

Announcing the decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Biden said that around 10,000 troops – 2,500 US personnel and another 7,000 from NATO – would be home before the 20th anniversary of 9/11.