The Airmen of Barksdale Air Force Base recently performed an exercise in recent history in which airmen have not participated: live-loading AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles onto B-52H Stratofortresses.
Bayou Warrior tested the 2nd Bomb Wing’s ability to conduct long-range airstrike missions with these high-value munitions June 10-13, 2024.
Though the JASSMs weren’t launched in the exercise, it was still a rare occasion for personnel to exercise executing a conventional strike with live munitions.
“This one was a unique flavor,” commented Col. Michael D. Maginness, commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing. “We flew the weapons, which was an outstanding opportunity for our aircrew.”
The exercise also included the use of the Crisis Action Team in simulating a real-world combat scenario. The Air Force Global Strike Command inspector general’s office conducted the exercise as a review of weapons loading and maintenance by the 2nd Bomb Wing.
As Col. Bryan J. Walter once mentioned, being the former deputy inspector general for AFGSC, the core of the essence can be highlighted as he said about it: “They’re going to come in, and they’re going to give you a hard look at, ‘Are you ready to go?’”
Lt. Col. Amanda Goncalves, commander of the 2nd Operations Support Squadron, said the exercise simulated an actual situation based on intelligence. “Here’s the U.S. response. This is how you got to this situation in this scenario. You are now being asked by a combatant command to generate so many aircraft, so many weapons, in so much time,” she said.
The B-52H Stratofortress is an icon of U.S. nuclear power; and 60 years into its career, it has been used as a conventional bomber. Its future likely lies in the deployment of standoff cruise missiles from its bomb bay and huge wings.
“Due to some of the characteristics of the JASSM, the airplane flies a little differently,” noted Maginness, who has about 3,700 flight hours on B-52s. B-52s carry fuel in portions of the aircraft as ballast to maintain a center of gravity with JASSMs on the wings.
“It’s a very old aircraft. It’s a lot of work, but our guys are great at their job,” said Master Sgt. Nickolas Shelton, production superintendent with the 2nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. “It’s about time management, people management, parts management.”
According to a statement, the B-52 can carry a total of 20 JASSMs, inclusive of 12 on outer pylons on the wings and another eight internally.
The ability to release a JASSM from an internal Conventional Rotary Launcher was first demonstrated in August 2016. Flying with live JASSMs was also noted by Capt.
Timothy Walraven, a weapon systems officer with the 20th Bomb Squadron. “It’s not that common for us to fly around with JASSMs on the pylons,” he said.
“It’s good for aircrew to fly with this because it makes them more proficient.”
Bayou Warrior represents a significant event for the B-52H and JASSM in showing the potential for modern warfare use with the U.S. Air Force being ready to perform long-range strikes with high accuracy and effectiveness.