Central ND News

UNITED KINGDOM – Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford, the preferred bomber forward operating location in Europe for U.S. Air Force (USAF) Global Strike Command, supports various missions and exercises involving the Minot 5th Bomb Wing and Grand Forks 319th Reconnaissance Wing. U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) visited RAF Fairford today to gain a deeper understanding of the strategic importance of these sites and observe the facilities used by North Dakota airmen 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 hosts 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, command, control, and communications (C3) missions for U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operations. The 420th Air Base Squadron offers mission support to receive, bed down, and sustain deployed forces, allowing U.S. and NATO warfighters to conduct comprehensive flying operations from RAF Fairford.

“The global threat freedom faces from the axis of evil including China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and their proxies is unlike anything anyone alive has seen, demanding 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 observed 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 USAF operating 26 B-52 aircraft while GFAFB operates RQ-4B Global Hawk Block 40 aircraft providing high-altitude ISR missions.

During his visit, Cramer assessed quality-of-life conditions at RAF Fairford firsthand while observing Lockheed's U-2 aircraft which provide round-the-clock high-altitude all-weather surveillance and reconnaissance directly supporting U.S. Allied Forces.