France has, for the first time since the start of the war in the Middle East, granted permission for American strategic bombers to pass through its airspace en route to Iran. The development was reported on March 20 by Itamilradar, with the information corroborated by OSINT analyst OSINTtechnical and the Flightradar24 service.
A flight of USAF B-52s appears to have used French airspace today to carry out a strike mission on Iran.
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 20, 2026
Spotters in England confirmed that the bombers were armed with a full load of cruise missiles on departure. pic.twitter.com/Fl9YCHr0yQ
According to Itamilradar, two B-52H bombers and two B-1 aircraft passed through French airspace after departing from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, the United Kingdom. Cruise missiles were observed mounted on the aircraft at take-off.
Previously, US bombers departing from the United Kingdom for the Middle East avoided continental European airspace, instead routing via the Gibraltar corridor. As The Aviationist notes, flight planners in earlier stages may not have filed formal overflight requests for European countries.