Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III wrapped up a two-day NATO defense ministerial in Brussels saying Russia’s bluff withdrawal did not fool him, and that the alliance is only stronger, as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to add troops and air combat power to Belarus, ...
F-16 fighter jets from the 31st Fighter Wing at Aviano Air Base, Italy, practiced combat cooperation with the Romanian Air Force while conducting “all-domain targeting operations” in a Jan. 14 bilateral exercise in the Black Sea region, according to a U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air ...
Air Force MQ-9s have a new permanent home in Romania. U.S. Air Forces in Europe announced Jan. 4 that Reapers and about 90 Airmen are now based at Romanian Air Force Base 71 at Campia Turzii. The surveillance and attack drones are assigned to the ...
Aviano Air Base's 555th Fighter Squadron this week concluded a nearly monthlong stint supporting NATO's enhanced Air Policing mission in Bulgaria, during which Russian military aircraft didn't cross into the European nation's sovereign airspace, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa told Air Force Magazine ...
Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper on Oct. 20 said that the Pentagon's proposed posture shift in Europe, which is slated to pull nearly 12,000 troops out of Germany, end Spangdahlem Air Base's fighter mission, and relocate U.S. Africa Command's headquarters, looks to more effectively deter ...
Bipartisan lawmakers on Sept. 30 blasted the Pentagon for failing to provide details of its planned force structure changes in Europe, saying the proposed removal of almost 12,000 troops from Germany could harm U.S. alliances. Under the proposal, first announced in July, DOD would shift ...
U.S. and European military forces will try to push the boundaries of how the alliance responds in the face of air and missile threats during the “Astral Knight” exercise this month. The second annual Air Force-led exercise hopes to mirror the Pentagon’s broader push to ...
U.S. Air Force jets and Navy ships on Aug. 2 held a joint training exercise in the Black Sea near Russia’s borders together for the second time in two weeks, aiming to fine-tune their collaboration in a potential conflict. Four F-16s from the 31st Fighter ...
Russia purportedly intercepted a U.S. Air Force RC-135 surveillance plane and a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft over the Black Sea on July 30. Neither American aircraft crossed the Russian border, noted the post, which included a 36-second video that appeared to depict ...
USAF F-16s, KC-135s, MC-130Js, and MQ-9s linked up with U.S. Navy aircraft and ships as well as support from U.S. Space Command during a large-scale exercise in the Black Sea on July 22. The mission in Eastern Europe, with Russia watching, “was designed to train ...
The unprecedented pace of bomber task force deployments to Europe recently has allowed USAF's strategic forces to train with allies they haven’t flown alongside before in areas generally unfamiliar to the bombers, the head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe said. The task force flights, ...
Russian aircraft on June 26 again intercepted U.S. aircraft in international airspace, this time USAF and U.S. Navy reconnaissance planes along with a refueling tanker operating in the Black Sea. The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing a Navy P-8, along with a ...