US Strategic Command completed a long-range strike exercise in Alaska on 4 April 2012. F-22s and E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft assigned to JB Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, along with F-16s from Misawa AB, Japan, B-1 bombers from Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota, and KC-135 tankers from Eielson AFB, Alaska, participated in the operation. The F-22s, KC-135s, and F-16s were flown from Eielson, while the E-3 and Blue Air F-16s were flown from Elmendorf. The B-1 crews flew a ten-hour round trip sortie to strike targets east of Eielson. The objective was to validate the long-range strike capability of the B-1s as well as the ability of the F-22 and F-16 pilots to escort the bombers into an anti-access target area.
