[FreedomNotSafety]

Why send two of our slowest moving least stealthy aircraft? An invitation to shot at them? I know they are armed to the teeth with weapons and electronics but they are still slooow. Why not a fighter patrol?

[Daus]

The point is to be seen, so no stealth required.

[Zhang Fei]

Why send two of our slowest moving least stealthy aircraft? An invitation to shot at them? I know they are armed to the teeth with weapons and electronics but they are still slooow. Why not a fighter patrol?

Because there's no mistaking the radar cross section of a B-52. As gestures go, sending up a couple of B-52's is a big one, since they are used mostly for dropping hundreds of bombs on enemy targets.