(JNS) Two B-52 long-range bombers flew across the Middle East as part of a simulated international bombing exercise, the U.S. Air Force announced this week.

The aircraft took off from Royal Air Force Fairford in Gloucestershire, England—the U.S. Air Force’s only European airfield for heavy bombers—and flew above the eastern Mediterranean, Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea “before departing the region,” the U.S. Air Force statement said.

The B-52 Stratofortress strategic bombers were accompanied by Israel Air Force planes through part of the mission. Sixteen nations provided logistical support.

The United States and its allies can “rapidly inject overwhelming combat power into the region on demand,” U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich said in a statement, according to AFP.

“Threats to the U.S. and our partners will not go unanswered,” said Grynkewich, who commands the Ninth Air Force, the air component of U.S. Central Command, which covers the Middle East, among other regions.