IAF to host 100 foreign fighter jets

The joint training will include practicing bombing runs and air-to-air combat.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN
Lt. G. IAF fighter pilot 370 (photo credit: IDF Spokesman)
Lt. G. IAF fighter pilot 370
(photo credit: IDF Spokesman)
More than 100 foreign fighter jets from dozens of countries will arrive this year for a joint training program.
The IAF is in the midst of getting ready for the occasion, a military source said, adding that preparations for the program are currently taking place across all Israeli air bases.
The joint training will include practicing bombing runs and air-to-air combat.
The foreign air forces are attracted to Israel as a training location due to its knowledge of weapons systems held by Arab states, Channel 2 reported on Tuesday.
“This fact has led many foreign forces to train in Israel, alongside coalitions of states and aerial forces that work together,” the report added.
It noted that an international alliance recently led a joint operation in Libya from the air, and may do so again in Syria, if the order is given to strike the Assad regime’s chemical weapons sites.
An air force pilot told Channel 2 that the IAF is structured to carry out its mission alone, but that joint training will help it build a common language with the rest of the world.