RIYADH — Saudi Royal Air Force fighter jets escorted on Thursday the US B-52H Stratofortress bombers across the Kingdom's airspace, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. The US bombers have the ability to launch a large load of multiple weapons and hit their targets accurately and deeply," the SPA report said. The US bombers flew over a swath of the Middle East. "Saudi Arabia and its international partners are constantly working to improve the harmony among them, as the Royal Saudi Air Forces work with their counterparts from allied countries to achieve integration in terms of communications, planning and technical systems," the press agency added. Meanwhile, the US Central Command, which is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the US Department of Defense, said in a tweet on Friday. "On 10th December 2020, the Royal #Saudi Air force escorted two US B-52 Bombers, while crossing the KSA's airspace." On Thursday, the US Central Command tweeted, saying: "A pair of US Air Force B-52H "Stratofortresses" assigned to Barksdale Air Force Base operated in the CENTCOM area of responsibility with other @usairforce and regional partner aircraft in the second mission in as many months." Commenting on the development, Gen. Frank McKenzie, the commander of the US Central Command, said: "The ability to fly strategic bombers halfway across the world in a non-stop mission, and to rapidly integrate them with multiple regional partners demonstrates our close working relationships and our shared commitment to regional security and stability." Experts believe that the US move, which is the second in less than a month, was aimed at sending Iran a strong warning against any "misadventure."
