US B-52 bombers train with Morocco, Tunisia aircraft over Mediterranean
The destroyer USS Roosevelt simulated a hostile ship in a US show of force alongside the North African countries.
Two nuclear-capable US B-52 bombers flew alongside Moroccan F-16s and Tunisian F-5s over the Mediterranean this week in a joint military exercise intended to send a signal to Russia and China.
The two US Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses intercepted the destroyer USS Roosevelt in a war simulation Monday and Tuesday, the US Africa Command said in statements.
The exercise comes just two weeks after six US B-52s and aircraft from 20 allied nations flew over all NATO countries in a tour de force amid exacerbating tensions within the Western alliance.
The flights were part of US-led bomber task force missions initiated in 2018 as the Pentagon sought to turn attention away from hunting Islamist insurgencies around the world toward deterring powers such as Russia and China.
