Once a year, airmen of the 5th Bomb Wing test their abilities to conduct nuclear-capable bomber operations. This year, 12 massive B-52s took off from the military runway at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, and the Cold War-era bombers were caught on camera.

The exercise, named Prairie Vigilance, caught crews by surprise—5th Operations Group commander Col. Douglas Warnock gave orders to execute the mission a week earlier than originally planned. "By starting a week early, it gave our Airmen the opportunity to clearly exhibit their abilities and nuclear prowess," he said.

U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class J.T. Armstrong

While the U.S. Air Force has flown the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress since the 1950s, the big bird still plays a crucial role in the nation's nuclear dominance. Earlier this year, a B-52 posed in a show of solidarity against North Korea during a low level flyover of Osan in South Korea. B-52s have more recently been stationed alongside B-1 and B-2 bombers in Guam, marking the first-ever operations in the U.S. Pacific Command area involving all three bombers. The B-52 "BUFF" can carry up to 70,000 pounds of weapons and has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles without aerial refueling.

According to 5th bomb wing commander Col. Matthew Brooks, "The exercise ensures our Airmen and B-52s maintain the highest state of combat readiness and demonstrates that the wing can respond to emerging strategic threats anytime and anywhere in the world."

U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class J.T. Armstrong

Approximately 3,500 Airmen from across the wing demonstrated safe, secure, reliable nuclear-capable weapons standards and procedures during the weapons generations and fly off. The exercise concluded with a rapid fly-off, successfully launching a sequence of 12 B-52s to showcase their active capability to execute the mission.

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