Just two days ago we showcased some beautiful pictures of Marine One creating its own blizzard as it touched down on the White House’s snowy lawn. Now we go from frigid to warm with pictures that showcase American air power in pretty much the exact opposite climate.
B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, which call Whiteman Air Force in Missouri home, are back at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii to fulfill U.S. Strategic Command’s bomber task force power projection mission to the Pacific. B-2s regularly rotate through the Indo-Pacific region to train with forward-deployed U.S. assets and allies. They also bring the USAF’s hardest-hitting and most coveted combat capability to a tense region.
Based permanently at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam is the 199th Fighter Squadron and their F-22A Raptors. B-2s and F-22s are part of an already highly integrated, deep penetrating, air combat team, so any time training opportunities present themselves, Raptors and Spirits hit the skies. Thankfully, a recent sortie over the island paradise included a series of photo ops from multiple angles as a formation of F-22s and a B-2 flew low over some of Oahu’s most prominent landmarks, including Waikiki’s Beach and Diamond Head, as well as high over the Pacific to get gas from a local KC-135Rs belonging to the 203rd Air Refueling Squadron.
Check out the gorgeous results of mixing America’s most potent aerial weaponry, a camera’s lens, and some incredible backdrops that only Hawaii can provide:
Something tells me this is one deployment the folks of the 509th Bomb Wing seldom complain about, especially during the heart of winter in Missouri!
Contact the author: Tyler@thedrive.com