The planes were initially used by the CIA, first flown in 1955 during the Cold War and for top-secret missions over the Soviet Union, China, Vietnam and Cuba.

They feature a 63ft-long thin fuselage, two high-aspect, un-swept glider-like wings, and a powerful engine which is carefully designed to keep the plane higher than 70,000ft.  

The surveillance plane is one of just a few aircraft models that have served the United States Air Force for more than 50 years, with this year marking the 66th anniversary of its first flight. 

The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a strategic bomber and is capable of carrying up to 70,000 pounds worth of weapons.

It was created to carry nukes for Cold War deterrent missions but have been upgraded to become a modern military giant.  

The US Air Force said in a statement: 'B-52 Stratofortress aircraft, support equipment, and personnel from the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived at RAF Fariford, England, today to execute the long-planned Bomber Task Force mission, a regularly scheduled U.S. European Command and U.S. Strategic Command joint mission series. 

'En route to RAF Fairford, U.S. Bomber Aircraft integrated with British Typhoon aircraft and Portuguese F-16s currently assigned to NATO's Icelandic Air Policing mission. 

'Bomber aircraft also integrated with British Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) to conduct bilateral Close Air Support training. 

'The mission focused on enhancing readiness and interoperability for the controllers responsible for coordinating airstrikes to support ground forces.

'Regularly integrating with our allies improves our cooperation and operational capacity, capability and interoperability.

'Occurring since 2018, bomber rotations through Europe maintain our readiness to execute a wide variety of missions across two continents, sustaining peace through deterrence.'

Reference: Dan Sales For Mailonline