U.S. B-52 bomber crashes shortly after takeoff at California Air Force base

A U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber crashed Monday morning shortly after taking off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, north of Los Angeles. The base said on social media that the aircraft went down at 11:20 a.m. and that emergency crews were sent immediately to the scene. CNN reported that it was not yet clear whether anyone was injured.

A short video from the crash site circulated online and showed smoke rising after the aircraft went down. Edwards Air Force Base is located in the Mojave Desert in California, northeast of Los Angeles.

The B-52 first entered service in 1952 as a so-called “doomsday bomber,” designed to carry nuclear bombs aimed at the Soviet Union without needing to refuel en route. Over the decades, it has been repeatedly upgraded to improve its weapons systems and adapt to new threats.

The heavy bomber can carry more than 30 tons of ordnance, including nuclear weapons and other heavy munitions, and can drop bunker-busting bombs. It can also deliver weapons at ranges of about 2,500 kilometers. The article notes its use in the Vietnam War during Operation Linebacker 2, when the aircraft dropped more than 15,000 tons of bombs, as well as in the 1990s against underground bunkers in Iraq. More recently, B-52s were used in operations against ISIS and as a show of force toward rivals, including Iran and Russia, through deployments in Europe.