Two Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers and several Navy E/A-18G Growlers practiced long-range escort and aircraft interception with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force on Wednesday over the Sea of Japan.

The bombers left Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska for the mission, which involved four F-2 and 12 F-15 JASDF fighter jets “to enhance the readiness and security of the region,” according to an Air Force statement Thursday.

“These strategic bomber missions provide our Airmen with the realistic long-duration sorties that they require to remain highly proficient and ready to act when called upon to support the collective defense of the United States,” said 96th Bomb Squadron commander Lt. Col. Christopher Duff in the statement.

The bombers are from the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base, La., but are deployed to Eielson, near Fairbanks, as part of the new Air Force approach to making its global bomber presence less predictable.

The new “force employment model” means the Air Force will deploy strategic bombers to the Indo-Pacific region from more locations overseas and in the United States, the statement said.