On March 29, the “Enduring Lightning” training that took place in southern Israel came to an end. The exercise featured F-35I fighters from the Israeli Air Force's 140th Golden Eagle and F-35A fighters from the 388th Fighter Wing at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, USA.
This is the third time that F-35I “Adir” fighters train alongside foreign F-35s. In June 2019, the IAF, USAF and RAF (Royal Air Force) held the t training exercise “Tri-Lightning”. In addition, in November 2019, the international exercise “Blue Flag” hosted the Italian F-35s. This week the Adirs trained for the first time with their biggest military partner, the United States.
Photo: IAF
“The Americans are our number one partners,” Major TT, head of the International Exercises section, said in a statement on the IAF website. “It is of great importance to work with the most advanced aircraft in our territory when we host them. It is important that the IAF work with the American F-35 project leaders to see how they operate, to learn from them and to collaborate on advanced technology in the world of aviation. Major M., exercise leader for the 140th Squadron added: “This is the second time we have flown US F-35s. We strive to be as connected as possible to the partners in the project – the training with the Americans is excellent, as they have a lot of knowledge and experience in the subject. The exercise we performed was intimate
Fantastic shots from "Enduring Lightning" – the first US-Israeli bilateral #F35 exercise over the skies of Israel (held on March 29th (Sunday)), featuring #IAF #F35I|s from 140 Sqn. ("Golden Eagle") and #USAF #F35A|s from 34th FS ("Rude Rams"), 388th FW.https://t.co/mJQIgL3b92 pic.twitter.com/zgjgu10hyP
—Guy Plopsky (@GuyPlopsky) March 30, 2020
This time the exercise was carried out exclusively on air, with no face-to-face meetings between Israeli and American teams. Additionally, meetings have been held between military personnel using classified communication devices – all due to the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19. "During these times, conducting this international training exercise with the world's most advanced flight platforms, despite facing limitations - should not be taken for granted."
The US fighters are based at an air base in the United Arab Emirates, from there the fighters take off to the meeting point under the State of Israel.
“We intend to create an exercise so that it eventually becomes an exercise in the court of origin”, explains the major. "In other words, we aspire to train like we did yesterday with American forces here in Israel on a regular basis."
Source: IAF
