US military training footage misrepresented after Iran assault on Israel
Users of X are claiming a video shows the United States mobilizing long-range bombers loaded with nuclear warheads in preparation for war in the Middle East after Iran launched its first-ever direct assault on Israel, a key ally. This is false; the footage predates the April 13, 2024 attack and captures a military training exercise that officials told AFP was scheduled far in advance.
"US is preparing for the coming conflict with Iran!! US Air Force B-52H long-range bombers loaded with cruise missiles and other munitions!" says an April 17, 2024 post on X, formerly Twitter.
Similar posts -- including from conservative commentator Chuck Callesto, who later deleted his post -- spread in multiple languages across X and other platforms. Many claimed the video showed bombers "loaded with nuclear warheads" and warned of a third World War or secret plans from President Joe Biden's administration.
The US announced widespread sanctions against Iran's military drone program April 18 in response to Tehran's attack on Israel, which raised regional tensions to new heights more than six months into a deadly conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The barrage of more than 300 Iranian drones and missiles -- countered with the support of the United States and other Israeli allies -- came in retaliation for a deadly April 1 strike widely blamed on Israel that hit Iran's consulate in Damascus, the capital of Syria.
The White House has vowed in the wake of the assault to defend Israel but said it would not support an Israeli counterattack and warned against triggering a full-blown regional conflict.
The video spreading online is unrelated to Iran's attack and any potential US response.
A reverse image search surfaced the original footage on the Pentagon's Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) website, where it is dated April 7 (archived here). The description says: "Airmen assigned to the 705th Munitions Squadron conduct convoy operations during Exercise Prairie Vigilance/Bayou Vigilance 24-3 at Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, April 7, 2024."
Exercise Prairie Vigilance, which took place from April 6 to April 12, involved airmen from the North Dakota base and another base in Louisiana. It is "a routine training mission that enhances the safety, security and reliability of the bomber leg of the US nuclear triad," according to the Minot Air Force Base (archived here).
"Prairie Vigilance provides a realistic training environment for Global Strike Airmen to exercise flexible, strategic airpower," the base's April 15 news release adds.
Brus Vidal, director of public affairs for the Air Force Global Strike Command, told AFP in an April 17 email that the footage being misrepresented online shows "a long-standing, preplanned exercise series scheduled well in advance of any current world events."
"We routinely train for a variety of scenarios to ensure Air Force Global Strike Command is always prepared and ready to support our combatant commands and the national command authority."
Charles Hoffman, chief of media operations for Air Force Global Strike Command, said in an April 18 interview that the Prairie Vigilance and Bayou Vigilance exercises "are planned for months and years" and that it is "simply not true" that the movements captured on video were "in response to current events."
"We're always training to be ready anytime," Hoffman told AFP, adding that the same exercises occur "at least annually."
Press releases and other public records show the trainings have been conducted several times in previous months and years, including as recently as January (archived here, here, here, here and here).
The DVIDS caption on one photo of airmen loading a B-52H Stratofortress bomber during a prior Exercise Prairie Vigilance in October 2023 says the missiles were "inert" (archived here).
AFP has debunked other misinformation about the Iran attack and Israel's war with Hamas here.
