News B-52 makes rare landing in Yokota

A B-52H Stratofortress diverted Tuesday evening to this airlift hub in western Tokyo, the second such visit in less than a year. The bomber landed at 5:22 p.m. safely and without incident, a spokesman for 374th Airlift Wing, Master Sgt. Nathan Allen, said by email Wednesday. The Stratofortress is assigned to the 2nd Bomb Wing, Barksdale Air Force Base, La., he said. The bomb wing is the largest in Air Force Global Strike Command, whose mission is to provide strategic deterrence, global strike and combat support. Allen did not say what caused the bomber to divert to Yokota, and the wing denied Stars and Stripes' request to photograph it. Amateur photographers, in fits and starts, approached the base's east-side perimeter fence, attempting to get shots of the aircraft behind a row of trees. A B-52 took part in an exercise Tuesday over South Korea along with Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons, South Korean F-15 Slam Eagles and Japan Self-Defense F-2 fighters, according to a news release from the South Korea Ministry of National Defense.

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