Maintainers and crew chiefs from the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare B-2 Spirits March 19, 2011, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kenny Holston)
Maintainers and crew chiefs from the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron prepare B-2 Spirits March 19, 2011, at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Kenny Holston)
3/21/2011 - BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFNS) -- Airmen piloting three B-2 Spirits returned to Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., after striking targets in Libya in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn.
The B-2s returned after a more than 25-hour mission in support of the international response to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya.
The B-2s employed 45 guided joint direct attack munitions, each weighing 2,000 pounds, against hardened aircraft shelters in Libya, officials said.
A no-fly zone was imposed by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, authorizing military action in order to ensure the protection of the Libyan people and compliance with the conditions of UNSCR 1973.
Airmen assigned to the 608th Air Operations Center here coordinated four aerial refuelings for the B-2s during the mission, officials said. The Airmen coordinated the transition of command and control between Global Strike Command and U.S. Africa Command as the aircraft flew from the continental U.S. to African air space and back, officials said.
The goal of coalition strikes is to reduce the Libyan regime's ability to defy the no-fly zone and to enhance protection of coalition air forces charged with implementing it.
(Courtesy of Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs)
