source GAIA package: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6201410310200038_5675.zip Origin key: Sx_MilitaryTimes_M6201410310200038 imported at Fri Jan 8 18:19:05 2016

U.S. Strategic Command will sendB-52 Stratofortress bombers to participate in Exercise Noble Justification this month in support of NATO allies and partners.

The bombers will practice "command, control and employment of simulated conventional weapons operations" as part of the maritime component of the NATO exercise taking place in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea, according to a release.

"The participation of U.S. bombers in Exercise Noble Justification, which was specifically requested by NATO leadership, provides truly unique opportunities for our bomber crews to strengthen and improve interoperability with our allies and partners while working toward mutual goals," STRATCOM commander Adm. Cecil Haney said in the release.

The B-52s will be the third deployment of bombers to the European continent in the last five months — in June, two B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, joined two B-52s from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and one B-52 from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, in RAF Fairford, England, for military exercises in the region.

Exercise Noble Justification, which involves more than 13,000 multinational troops, aims to beef up the readiness of forces to respond to any NATO contingency at very short notice, the release said.

The exercise's focus is to support the Spanish Maritime Forces as the 2015 Maritime NATO Response Force.

Allied leaders have been working to spearhead the NRF since the multinational force was approved at the Wales NATO summit in September.

"I believe the entire NRF needs to have adaptation, and I believe that a smaller portion of the NRF needs to be much, much more responsive," Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander, U.S. European Command and NATO Supreme Allied Commander, told Air Force Times in September.

NATO allies are also preparing for next year's high-visibility exercise, "Trident Juncture 2015," hosted by Italy, Portugal and Spain in which 25,000 personnel — including the NRF — will participate.

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