For Aviano Air Base’s 555th Fighter Squadron, Thracian Viper 20 is about more than just training. The multilateral exercise, to which the squadron sent Airmen and six F-16s, boosts “operational capacity and capability," as well as interoperability with Bulgaria, Maj. Rohan Naldrett-Jays, the squadron’s chief ...
The Pentagon’s decision to keep the 352nd Special Operations Wing at its current home of RAF Mildenhall, U.K., necessitates new military construction to update the base's neglected infrastructure for the Airmen, CV-22s, and MC-130s, though it also means the wing can stay in a familiar ...
The head of U.S. Air Forces in Europe is “convinced” the command will base F-35As at RAF Lakenheath, U.K., on time in late 2021, despite some delays to military construction and a possible slowdown in F-35 deliveries because of COVID-19. “I am clear eyed that ...
The Air Force still needs 220 total bombers, including about 100 new B-21s, though that target is a “living number” that can change as the Raider comes online and aging aircraft are modernized and outfitted with advanced weapons, the head of Air Force Global Strike ...
More than 50 aircraft, including four different fighter types from three countries and two U.S. services, trained together in a large force exercise over the North Sea on Sept. 10. Exercise Point Blank 20-04 included U.S. Air Force F-16s from the 510th and 555th Fighter ...
A Russian fighter jet pursuing an Air Force B-52 violated Danish air space on Aug. 28, the same day a separate set of Russian fighters intercepted another B-52 in a manner U.S. officials say was unprofessional and unsafe. The B-52, deployed to Europe as part ...
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 ...
U.S. Air Forces in Europe moved its contingent of MQ-9 Reapers northeast to Estonia, where they can keep a closer eye on neighboring Russia. The contractor-owned, contractor-operated MQ-9s, related personnel, and support equipment moved to Amari Air Base in Estonia from their regular home of ...
The Air Force sent groups of B-52s to the Pacific and Europe as bomber task force deployments within two days this week, prompting Russia to intercept one. On June 15, two B-52Hs from the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., flew a ...
Four B-52s flew directly from North Dakota to the Arctic, integrating with Norwegian F-35s and F-16s for a long-duration strategic bomber task force mission on June 3. The mission is the latest in a series of bomber flights to Europe, which have recently featured the ...
A C-130J from the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, delivered more than 30,000 pounds of COVID-19 relief supplies to Italy as part of a new NATO initiative to quickly transmit equipment. The C-130J carried KN-95 masks, surgical gowns, and COVID-19 test kits ...
Within just four days, the Air Force sent nuclear-capable bombers on long-distance training flights to Europe and the Pacific, while B-1s flew their own long-range missions in both regions. On May 11, B-1s from Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., flew from their home base to ...