New York : Just over a year after US President Donald Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin with red carpets, military salutes and a flypast, he has extended a similar welcome to his other major counterpart, Chinese President Xi Jinping. When Putin arrived in Alaska in August 2025 for talks on ending the Russia-Ukraine war, a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and F-35 fighters flew overhead as the two leaders met.
In 2026, when Xi arrived at Joint Base Andrews on September 23, two B-1B Lancers thundered overhead during his welcome ceremony, with the US Air Force later flying a B-2 with four F-22s over the White House as part of the military spectacle. Conservative US influencer Nick Sortor called the B-1 flyover during Xi’s arrival a “surprise Supersonic Bomber” appearance and called the display of the spectacle “legendary”. “LMAO,” Sortor posted on X. “A surprise SUPERSONIC BOMBER flyover at President Trump’s welcome ceremony for Xi Jinping just caught EVERYONE off guard.
On August 15, 2025, Putin landed in Anchorage, Alaska, for a high-stakes meeting with Trump over Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Russian leader received an unusually elaborate welcome, including a red carpet, F-22 Raptors lining the flight path and a flyover by a B-2 Spirit accompanied by four F-35 fighters. The summit came after months of Trump pushing for an end to the Ukraine war and amid intense negotiations with Moscow. The talks ultimately ended without a ceasefire or peace agreement.
Former US intelligence officer Naveed Jamali had then told CNN that the timing was itself a form of communication. “Everything is about posturing and communicating,” he said, arguing that the B-2 showed Putin that Trump was negotiating “from a position of strength”. “We have a B-2 bomber. They [Russia] do not.” The former intelligence officer described the flyover at that precise moment, when the two leaders were on the red carpet, as strategic messaging designed to reinforce the American position during negotiations.
Trump personally greeted him at Joint Base Andrews, an unusual protocol gesture, for a three-day state visit focussed on trade, rare earths, artificial intelligence (AI) and broader US-China relations. As Xi stood alongside Trump during the welcome ceremony, two B-1B Lancers flew overhead while the US national anthem played. A day later, the US intensified the visual spectacle. A B-2 Spirit flew over the White House accompanied by four F-22 Raptors. That makes the Xi episode more than simply a B-1 flypast.
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