«Israeli» Jets Train with US, UK F-35s for First Time

By Staff, Agencies

Earlier this week, the “Israeli” Air Force’s [IAF] F-35's took part in an international exercise with the United States and the United Kingdom for the first time, an “Israeli” Occupations Force [IOF] spokesperson announced on Wednesday.

During the exercise, known as Tri-Lightning, “Israeli” F-35's trained alongside F-35's from the US and UK over the Mediterranean Sea. IAF forces practiced defense scenarios against changing threats in various advanced fighter aircraft, including the F-35.

The F-35s from the three nations acted as primarily friendly players in the Tri-Lightning exercise while a variety of other aircraft played the "aggressor roles," according to a US Air Force press release. This simulated "realistic combat situations" between the advanced F-35s and previous generation fighters.

The exercise was part of planned training and "presented a unique opportunity for joint training of the 5^th generation combat aircraft, enabling the cooperation between the corps and the development of joint capabilities," according to the IOF spokesperson.

"The exercise which was held for the first time yesterday, is an international F-35 exercise, reflecting the close cooperation between the forces," said the Head of the IOF’s Air Division, Brig. Gen Amnon Ein Dar. "International cooperation between ‘Israel’, the US and Britain strengthens common interests and new and exclusive capabilities in the Middle East."

“We build capacity with our strategic partners to harness our air component’s capabilities and skills,” said Lt. Gen. Joseph Guastella, US Air Forces Central Command commander, according to the US Air Force press release. “The transatlantic strategic relationship between the US and our allies and partners has been forged over the past seven decades and is built on a foundation of shared values, experience and vision.”

“Tri-Lightning was an exercise which had been planned for months and it provided an outstanding opportunity for the squadron to operate and learn from our fellow F-35 community,” said UK Wing Commander John Butcher, Squadron 617 commanding officer, according to the US Air Force press release. “In addition it allowed us to share and gain valuable experience that we will be able to exploit during future training and potentially operational deployments, whether embedded on the Queen Elizabeth or from overseas air bases.”