U.S. Air Force strategic bombers deployed to RAF Fairford continue to participate in Operation Epic Fury, with near-daily flights from both the B-1s and B-52s, the latter showcasing a hefty external payload.
While base security forces and local police continue efforts to keep RAF Fairford secure, using road closures, parking restrictions, and privacy screens, aviation enthusiasts are still managing to get clear glimpses of the deployed force of B-1B Lancer and B-52H Stratofortress bombers as they arrive and depart from the Gloucestershire base.
The Aviationist reader @TallGlen85 today showed us some video footage of both aircraft types as they left Fairford for a live mission. The B-1s, as expected, are carrying all of their payload internally – the reinstatement of external pylons on the fleet is still in development – while the B-52s are regularly boasting a full external payload of 12 AGM-158 JASSM (Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile) on wing pylons as well as, presumably, 8 more on a rotary launcher internally.
And here’s a B-52 launching from RAF Fairford for an Epic Fury mission. Take a look at the loadout. pic.twitter.com/VHN8rDoAX8
— The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) March 20, 2026
Although the U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine mentioned during as far back as Mar. 4, 2026 that ongoing operations against Iran were moving to stand-in rather than stand-off strikes, using precision guided bombs and shorter range missiles, the continued use of JASSMs suggests that there is still a fairly significant requirement for stand-off munitions. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed on Mar. 13 that only 1% of the munitions being used were stand-off munitions, while also proclaiming that “Iran has no air defenses”.
Yesterday, it was revealed that a U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II had made an emergency landing after a suspected hit by Iranian air defences – it has since been confirmed that the pilot, who is in a stable condition, suffered shrapnel wounds and the aircraft is not likely to return to service in the near future. If a stealth fighter like the F-35 is able to be hit by Iran’s remaining air defences, clearly the much larger B-52 and even B-1 could also be at risk.
Nice video from @TallGlenn85 who spent some time at RAF Fairford to watch US bombers launch and recover. “Da Bone” here. pic.twitter.com/PoT5SPcmTB
— The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) March 20, 2026
It is known though, based on weapons seen being loaded onto the aircraft, that at least some missions from Fairford are using GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) precision guided bombs. It is unclear whether the motivations for using the different weapon types is based on the potential threat from air defences or by other factors relating to the weapons’ specific capabilities.
No shortages of GBU-31 2,000lb JDAM bunker busters at RAF Fairford. Some more pictures from yesterday. Many appeared to be loaded on or around B-52s from what I saw – with the B1-bs positioned further away from my viewing point. No idea what the Bones were loaded up with. All… pic.twitter.com/AAxlXwUZWc
— Chris Partridge (@Chris1603) March 18, 2026
Bomber Routes
Both the B-1s and B-52s have been using two main routings to and from their missions over Iran. The most direct has seen the bombers head almost directly south from Fairford, transiting over land through French airspace to the Mediterranean Sea. The other route has the aircraft heading south west from Fairford and out into the Atlantic Ocean, before turning south and heading through international airspace, over the Strait of Gibraltar, and all the way across the Mediterranean.
Some have suggested that in the latter case the aircraft have been denied permission from France for an overflight, although as the France routing is still being used as recently as today it’s not certain that this actually is the case. Alternatively, the routing could be down to different practices by different flight planners – it’s thought that even prior to Operation Epic Fury, some instances where U.S. military aircraft have avoided overflying France and other European nations have been the result of flight planners simply not even applying to get diplomatic clearances rather than specifically being denied these clearances.
Though France has not directly joined the U.S.-Israeli operations against Iran, it has – as stated – granted permission for some overflights and has also opened up the possibility of U.S. aircraft using its Middle Eastern bases.
A flight of USAF B-52s appears to have used French airspace today to carry out a strike mission on Iran.
Spotters in England confirmed that the bombers were armed with a full load of cruise missiles on departure. pic.twitter.com/Fl9YCHr0yQ
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 20, 2026
Another possibility is that, in instances such as today (Mar. 20) where one flight of bombers (the B-52s) overflies France while the other (the B-1s) appear to take the longer routing, flight planners have organised these missions so that despite their similar departure times they can arrive in theatre at their perhaps differently scheduled times on target. Avoiding airspace conflicts between the two flights for refueling over the Mediterranean may also be a consideration.
Meanwhile, B-2 Spirit stealth bombers continue to also take part, though still apparently only flying directly from Whiteman AFB, Missouri. These can perform their missions more clandestinely than the B-1s and B-52s at Fairford as, since Whiteman is their home base, B-2 departures from there are not particularly notable and for obvious reasons they do not carry external payloads.
As they do not use Mode S or ADS-B, they are never tracked using applications like Flightradar24, so once airborne they can almost disappear until their return. While experienced flight tracking enthusiasts can sometimes piece their operations together from radio communications and tanker movements, many are electing to share this information online with a significant delay to avoid their hobby providing tools for Iranian intelligence gathering.
