The U.S. Air Force has forward deployed two B-1B strategic bombers to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, with the aircraft from Bomber Task Force 24-2 landing in the Eastern European state on April 15 amid escalating hostilities in neighbouring Middle Eastern countries. The Air Force reported that the bombers seamlessly integrated with Turkish fighter jets, with the B-1Bs having since continued to engage in training activities with Turkish forces. Commander of the 39th Air Base Wing Colonel Kevin Lord expressed gratitude to the Turkish hosts for their vital role in facilitating the deployment and training opportunity. The bombers’ arrival came just one day after the U.S. Air Force and Navy played a central role in shielding neighbouring Israel from Iranian drone and missile strikes, and following a surge in the U.S. Military’s presence in the region from October 2023 in support of Israeli forces against Iran and a number of its regional security partners such as Syria and the Lebanese militia Hezbollah. B-1Bs were previously deployed to Turkey in late October 2023, as part of this surge in the U.S. Military presence surrounding Israel following the outbreak of hostilities between Israeli forces and various Palestinian militia groups.
Turkey and the United States are considered Israel’s two most vital security partners in the region, with the former playing a central role in striking and supporting an insurgency against Iran’s leading state ally Syria. Turkish-sponsored Turkestan Islamic Party jihadists in Syria’s Idlib governate, where Turkey maintains a major military presence and provides air defence, were notably targeted by Iranian missile strikes in January after playing a key role in terrorist attacks inside Iran. As Turkey’s neighbour Israel faces growing strain on its supplies of 155mm artillery rounds, amid ongoing operations in the Gaza Strip and hostilities with Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces, the Turkish government has offered key support to U.S. efforts to increase production of these rounds, facilitating expanded supplies to Israel as well as to Ukraine. The hosting of B-1B bombers, which are expected to play a central role in potential U.S. strikes against Israeli adversaries whether they be non state actors or Iran itself, is thus only the latest significant example of Ankara’s importance to bolstering Western and Israeli security interests.
The B-1B bomber serves as a cruise missile carrier for the U.S. Air Force, and combines a very long range with a massive weapons carrying capacity equivalent to that of multiple fourth or fifth generation fighter squadrons. The aircraft has been used extensively for offensive operations across the Middle East, including for strikes on targets across Syria in 2018 which Turkey had for years played a leading role in lobbying for to support its own air offensives, and those of Israel, against the Arab state. B-1Bs also played a central role in American operations in Afghanistan from 2001-2021, with their deployment of a range of long range cruise missile types today allowing them to strike targets across Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq at very safe distances from local air defences. The deployment of the bombers closely coincides with the staging of a major show of force using B-2 Spirit stealth bombers based in the United States, which have in the past been used to stage strikes on targets in the Middle East on intercontinental range flights. The demonstration of high availability rates in the B-2 fleet, which have generally been notoriously low and often left the aircraft out of service for very extended periods, was interpreted by a number of analysts as a show of force directed against Iran and its security partners. As the U.S. further increases military involvement in the Middle East in support of Israel, Turkey’s key role in furthering American security interests in the region has led to it being offered new F-16 Block 70/72 and F-35 fighters to enhance its own air force.