RAF Fairford and RAF Welford house the 420th Air Base Group. Their mission is to receive, bed-down and sustain munitions to enable U.S. and NATO forces to conduct full-spectrum flying operations from USAFE's only bomber-forward operating location. RAF Fairford is a forward operating location for the Boeing B-52, the B-1 and the B-2 bomber aircraft. It also assists in U-2 aircraft deployment, deployed operations training and serves as an alternate landing site for the U.S. Space Shuttle. RAF Fairford annually hosts the world's largest military airshow called the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT); typically held in July.