US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bomber from 23rd Bomb Squadron support an international mission over Arctic.

A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress long-range heavy bomber from the 23rd Bomb Squadron support an international mission over the Arctic. The Arctic is a strategic region with growing geopolitical and global importance. 

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A U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress from the 23rd Bomb Squadron flies over the Arctic region.  (Picture source U.S. Air Force)

The 23rd Bomb Squadron is a United States Air Force unit, assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing. It is stationed at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. The mission of the squadron is to fly the Boeing B-52H Stratofortress strategic bomber. The squadron stands ready to deploy and fly its B-52Hs to enforce national security policy by being ready to deliver overwhelming nuclear or conventional firepower to destroy targets, worldwide, at any time.

 The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is an American long-range, subsonic, jet-powered strategic bomber. The B-52 was designed and built by Boeing, which has continued to provide support and upgrades. It has been operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) since the 1950s. The bomber is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds (32,000 kg) of weapons, and has a typical combat range of more than 8,800 miles (14,080 km) without aerial refueling.

For more than 60 years, B-52s have been the backbone of the strategic bomber force for the United States. The B-52 is capable of dropping or launching the widest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory. This includes gravity bombs, cluster bombs, precision-guided missiles, and joint direct attack munitions.

A lot of variants of B-52 were developed but only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory and is assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB, North Dakota, and the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, which fall under Air Force Global Strike Command. The aircraft is also assigned to the Air Force Reserve Command's 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB.

The most significant upgrade of the B-52H was the switch to TF33-P-3 turbofan engines which, despite the initial reliability problems, offered considerably better performance and fuel economy than the J57 turbojets. The ECM and avionics were updated, a new fire control system was fitted, and the rear defensive armament was changed from machine guns to a 20 mm M61 Vulcan cannon.