F-15Cs 
from RAF Lakenheath, England, are flying with fighters from six allied countries at Albacete AB, Spain, for NATO’s Tactical Leadership Program course. Pilots from Lakenheath’s 493rd Fighter Squadron will brush up on the tactical skills needed to coordinate and lead an allied air campaign though 16 combat scenarios incorporating as many as 30 allied aircraft, according to a Jan. 18 release from base officials. “We can bring in experience that we acquire across the globe and share that with our allies,” said Maj. Manny Gomez, War Preparation Center Det. 1 operations director at the TLP. “At the same time, we can learn from them because they also have different ways of doing things,” he added. Lakenheath F-15s are flying mixed sorties with Spanish Eurofighters and alongside assets from Belgium, Britain, France, Greece, and Italy, states the release. The current course began on Jan. 16 and runs through Feb. 7. (Albacete report by 2nd Lt. Lyndsey Horn)
While U.S. defense officials have spent much of the past decade warning that China is the nation’s pacing threat and its People’s Liberation Army represents an urgent threat in the Indo-Pacific, several defense researchers are skeptical that the PLA has the human capital, the structural ability, or the political appetite…