Base hosting US Air Force for training missions

Lt Col Jared Patterson is one of many US airmen currently stationed at RAF Fairford

A Gloucestershire airbase is currently hosting more than double the usual number of crew from the United States Air Force.

More than 200 American aircrew have flown in to RAF Fairford to carry out a bomber task force, working with other NATO countries to practice how to coordinate bomb drops.

The US Air Force personnel at RAF Fairford in the Cotswolds are normally based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana.

Lt Col Jared Patterson said crew had been "honing our skills so we're ready for any future fight".

The US is the only NATO country with large bombers, with four B-52 bombers currently at RAF Fairford.

Lt Col Patterson said the deployment was about "increasing trust-building capacity" with partners and allies and that they had carried out training missions in Lithuania and Morocco.

"Throughout this deployment we've had out here in England, we've worked with a variety of partner nations," he said.

Capt Christina Herman said it had been satisfying to put her training into use

Capt Christina Herman, who is part of the bomber task force, is a radar navigator.

"During training, everything's simulated and it's okay if you mess up because nobody's going to get hurt," she said.

"But in real life, when you feel your bomb leaving your jet, [you think] 'Oh snap, I just did that'.

"To be able to come out here and do the job, it gives me that satisfaction that the last two to three years of training, it's not just going away.

"I get to put into motion what people before me have taught me."

Lt Col Michael Devita said being at RAF Fairford is "something different", especially for younger crews who may not have left the US before

Lt Col Michael Devita said flying and integrating with allies is "one of the biggest parts of the bomber task force".

"We love being out here, we love flying," he said.

"It's definitely a unique experience flying in the UK airspace specifically, but every single one of the allied countries we fly through have different ways they control the airspace, especially for military airplanes."

Last week, a dinner was held at RAF Fairford as US personnel celebrated Thanksgiving.