Photos show a US Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber flying with Japanese F-35s for the first time

The operation was the first time that a B-2 stealth bomber has flown with Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-35s, according to a press release from PACAF.

The US Air Force B-2 launched from Royal Australian Air Force Base Amberley in Australia. Once the B-2 rendezvoused with the Japanese fighters, the “pilots conducted integration and aerial refueling operations,” PACAF said.

B-2s, normally stationed at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, have been conducting Bomber Task Force missions for the past three weeks. But Wednesday’s event was significant, PACAF said.

Lt. Col. Justin Meyer, the 110th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron commander, said that “the opportunity to integrate our B-2 Spirit pilots with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force 5th generation aircraft is a significant milestone for our bilateral integration operations.”

The B-2 Spirit, a strategic bomber, boasts massive firepower and stealth capabilities that differentiate it from most other US bombers, aside from the new B-21 Raider. Its payload capacity and ability to execute long-range penetrating strike missions make it a significant deterrent to US adversaries.

The aircraft first saw combat during the Kosovo War in 1999, striking Serbian targets with conventional munitions, and has since flown sorties over Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict areas. The bombers routinely fly in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

A day after posting photos of the B-2 and F-35s together, US Indo-Pacific Command shared pictures of a B-2 conducting a hot-pit refueling in Guam. The practice involves refueling an aircraft while the engines are still running so that it can immediately take off again.

INDOPACOM said that the mission demonstrated “capabilities of deployed assets to sustain flight operations that deter malign actors in the free and open Pacific.”