This Video Does Not Depict an American Bomber Landing in Poland
The Claim
A video depicts the arrival of a U.S. B2 Spirit bomber in Poland amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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A video purportedly showing a U.S. Spirit Bomber landing in Poland has gone viral on social media.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading.
The video does not feature a recent American war bomber dispatched to Poland.
B2 Stealth Bomber at RAF Fairford
On October 18, 2020, the video was uploaded to YouTube with the caption: "B-2 'Spirit of Washington' landing at RAF Fairford UK."
The YouTube channel "kingericofstretford" claimed to have filmed the video, which documents the aircraft's arrival at Royal Air Force Fairford UK after its deployment from the United States.
Another YouTube user claimed the footage was captured in March and shows the "Spirit of Ohio B2 Stealth Bomber" arriving at the RAF military base in Fairford, England.
Searching "RAF Fairford" and "Fairford" on Google Maps revealed the location in England where the footage was shot. On Google Maps, the location matches other cues from the circulating clip, such as a lake, trees, paved road, and aerodrome.
B2 Stealth Bomber Arrived in England, Not Poland
Despite an in-depth Google Advanced Search, our team was unable to find any credible evidence that the United States had sent a bomber to Poland during Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine.
However, in March 2020, many news outlets reported the arrival of a B2 Stealth Bomber at the Royal Air Force Fairford military base.
The Daily Mail reported on March 12, 2020, that "three USAF B-2 stealth bombers landed in Britain today as they continued to conduct military drills in NATO airspace amid heightened tensions with Russia." The article also included images of the Stealth Bomber at RAF Fairford as well as scenes of the aircraft landing.
Another Daily Mail article from March 15, 2020, referred to the B2 Stealth Bomber as one of the most lethal weapons in the U.S. military. According to the news outlet, a full display of B2 Stealth Bombers to Britons was seen after flying in from the American base in Lajes Field, Portugal, where it had been training.
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