Israel Air Force F-35s will be taking part in another joint drill with pilots from the United States Air Force and Royal Air Force a month after they return from their first drill abroad in Italy, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
“In another three weeks we will be taking part in another drill with the US Air Force and Royal Air Force along with the [HMS] Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier, which tomorrow will set sail for Cyprus,” Brig.-Gen. Amir Lazar, the head of the Training and Doctrine Directorate in the IAF, told the Post.
Six F-35A Adir stealth fighter jets are currently in Italy as part of the two-week-long Falcon Strike 2021 multinational exercise.
Along with the F-35s from 140 Squadron, Israel has also sent F-16s, a Gulfstream G550 intelligence gathering aircraft, and Boeing 707 aerial refuelers who will refuel American F-16s along with the Israeli F35s.
The Americans sent F-16s and F-35A/Bs, the Royal Air Force is flying the F-35Bs and Voyager A330 refeulers, and the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier. The Italians are flying the F-35A/Bs, KC-46 refuelers and the KC-130J. The Italians are also providing the enemy (red) air force using Eurofighter Typhoons, Panavia Tornado jets, Bell Agusta Helicopter, AMX International ground-attack aircraft and MQ-1 predator drones.
The exercise at Amendola Air Base in Italy taking place between June 7-15 is aimed to optimize the integration between fourth generation and fifth generation aircraft as well as increase cooperation between forces who fly the F-35 to strengthen their interoperability in joint operations.
According to Lazar, the drill in Italy will see the planes from all air forces training “as a coalition that talks a NATO language.”
“This exercise has great value in our ability to deploy the F-35 to remote bases and allows us to increase the squadron’s performance” he said.
Though all air forces taking part in the drill have flown the plane in operations, Israel was the first to use the stealth fighter jet in a combat scenario. The Israeli jets also took part in Operation Guardian of the Walls, which broke out just several weeks before the drill began.
“We were the first in the world to have used it, and, along with the Americans, have a lot more experience in the region and in terms of fighting with it,” Lazar said, adding that the Israeli F-35 pilots “bring to our partners and the entire F-35 community operational experience. We know how to extract the data and process operational input.”
The IAF takes part in several international drills each year in order to prepare for a wide range of scenarios and to strengthen professional ties and operational knowledge.
Lazar told the Post that in addition to the two drills taking place this summer, he hopes that F-35s will take part in the next Red Flag exercise in Nevada, one of the US Air Force’s largest combat training exercises.
The IAF believes that international exercises such as this one improve and strengthen the IAF’s capabilities to deal with threats in real time.
The exercise in Italy “has great value in our ability to deploy the F-35 to remote bases and allows us to increase the squadron’s performance,” a senior IAF official told reporters on Sunday, adding that “the drill is a fertile ground for mutual learning between the forces, focusing on the Adir system.”
According to the officer, “Iran is in our focus” during the drill, and, as part of the drill, planes will practice dogfighting, air-to-air and air-ground battle scenarios, the threat of advanced air defense batteries and enemy planes, as well as providing support to ground forces.
A large number of surface-to-air missile batteries will be deployed in the exercise against F-35 fighters to simulate an “environment full of threats,” he said.