On Wednesday, the Air Force made history when all three types of bombers flew a mission together, the first of its kind in the Pacific area.

Those three bombers — the B-52 Stratofortress, B-1 Lancer and B-2 Spirit — already fly missions in the area, but never together. But this week, the timing was just right.

In early August, several B-1s arrived at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam to replace the B-52s that have been flying missions from there, part of the service's "continuous bomber presence mission."

Meanwhile, three B-2s arrived in the area on Aug. 9 "to conduct sorties and regional training with partner nations," the Air Force said.

With all the pieces in place, the three planes flew in formation over Andersen, spread out and then conducted simultaneous operations over the South China Sea and Northeast Asia.

"This mission demonstrated the U.S. commitment to supporting global security and our ability to launch a credible strategic defense force," said Brig. Gen. Douglas Cox, the 36th Wing commander.