About 300 airmen and 16 F-15C Eagles deployed to Estonia Monday to take part in a multilateral training exercise as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve. Twelve F-15Cs from the 493rd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath and four from the 194th Expeditionary Squadron—deployed to Campia Turzi, Romania, in support of a theater security package sent to Europe—will train with air forces from Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom until September 2, according to a 48th Fighter Wing release. Eight A-10s, a KC-135, and more than 200 airmen from bases around the US and Europe recently finished up a two-week deployment to the Baltic nation.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.