The B-1B Lancer, one of the star attractions at Aero India, is the first American bomber to land in India since 1945. Its pilot Lt-Colonel Michael Fessler sees this as an extraordinary move to showcase the India-United States relationship in the Indo-Pacific region.
Fessler, the commander of the 34th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, who flew into Bengaluru with three other pilots in a B-1 Lancer stealth bomber earlier this week, said that he and his crew had undertaken a mammoth 11,000-mile journey in order to join the aerial display component of the air show on Wednesday.
“We are based out of Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota. We had four separate aerial refuellings during the 26-hour flight. The US government and the Air Force put a ton of emphasis in making sure that we could get over here and operate with our Indian Air Force partners,” Fessler said.
He added that the main objective for coming to Aero India was to build on the partnerships with the Indian Air Force.
“While our fighter brothers have had an opportunity to get out here and do some interoperability, by and large, US bomber (crews are yet) to do that,” Fessler said, adding the visit had broadened their exposure to the Indian Air Force in addition to highlighting the American partnership with the country.
During Aero India 2021, Fessler’s B-1 was escorted by Tejas fighters. The American officer praised the Indian pilots as “unfaltering and solid.”
“Due to a few troubles we had on the ground, we actually took off a little bit late. So it kind of put us into a little bit of an odd situation being off timing. We ended up getting into the ‘marshall,’ which is a chunk of airspace in which we fly circles to rejoin with the fighters. The Tejas pilots were incredibly flexible and resourceful. Before we even got into the ‘Marshall,’ they were already rejoining on our wing and pulling in tight. We had never flown in formation before. But by the second run around the ‘hole,’ they were tucked in very tight and we probably had about one fighter size aircraft spacing between us,” Fesselr said.
The American air officer said that the appearance of the Lancer shows that the US Air Force is able to respond and help out at a moment’s notice. “I can take off from any place in the United States and be halfway around the world in essentially one day. So I think that that was one of the things that we wanted to demonstrate,” he said.