Airmen and a dozen A-10s from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., deployed to Romania as part of a rotational tour to train with allied air forces and assure NATO’s Eastern European members of the United States’ commitment to European security, according to a rele?ase. The Davis-Monthan contingent arrived on March 30 at Campia Turzii, Romania. These airmen will spend the first portion of their 90-day deployment there, flying with Romanian air force MiG-21s, and also working with US Air Force personnel and equipment from Spangdahlem AB, Germany, as part of the Dacian Thunder 2015 exercise, states the release. The A-10 force will then move on to other locations in Eastern Europe for additional training with other allies. This expeditionary fighter force represents a theater security package, a rotational presence of forces from the US mainland to bolster the assets available to US Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa. The United States began these rotations after Russia aggression in Ukraine last year. US F-16s from Spangdahlem recently participated in the Dacian Warhawk 2015 exercise in Romania, and A-10s participated in Dacian Thunder in 2012.
The Biden administration is preparing to announce its final package of military assistance to Ukraine before Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, defense officials said Jan. 7. The military assistance, which is to be drawn from existing U.S. stocks, will be detailed when Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III convenes…