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French, British and US fighter jets train together

– Air-defense systems –

General Frank Gorenc, the commander of US Air Forces Europe, said there is considerable proliferation of air-defense systems on the continent.

He was referring to Russia’s air-defense systems that could restrict access to the skies over the Baltic or the Black Sea.

Washington last month expressed concerns after Russia deployed advanced S-400 anti-aircraft missiles to Latakia in northwestern Syria, in a move that came after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet in the increasingly crowded air space along the Syrian border.

And China, too, has made steady investments in anti-aircraft defense systems, again raising eyebrows in Washington.

“You have to have the ability to dismantle those things,” Welsh said, “so that you can operate fully across the spectrum of air power operation. If you can’t do that, you can’t do land or maritime operations.”

The training exercise – which was launched in 2010 – comprises six F-22 Raptors, eight Typhoons and six Rafales, as well as two Awacs surveillance planes and two air tankers. The training mission wraps up on December 18.

Sir Andrew Pulford, the Royal Air Force chief of staff, said it represented an important opportunity for pilots to regain their air-defense skills after long periods spent fighting enemies – such as the Taliban or IS jihadists – who have no air forces.

“After 10 years of Afghanistan and Iraq, some of those high-end skills have actually drifted away from us. This exercise is an important part of that journey of recovering our high-end capabilities,” he said.

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