MID-EAST TENSIONS TOO HIGH TO LET F-15s OUT OF COUNTRY
Israel’s Air Force is not sending F-15s to participate in the Red Flag exercise due to tension on the country’s northern border with Syria.
“In light of the situational assessment by the air force it was decided to adjust the planes’ participation in the exercise,” according to a statement by the Israeli Defense Force.
The two-week international drill starts April 26 and runs through May 11 at Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage. The exercise is repeated several times a year. Local residents can expect noise.
Israel’s Syrian border is a growing concern for the nation, as Iran gets more aggressive with Syria. The region is unsettled and Israel’s F-15s are considered the backbone of the Israel Air Force, with continuous operations over the Gaza Strip and the border.
The Israel military has been on high alert since mid-April, when it carried out an air strike against Syria, shooting guided missiles from Lebanese air space and killing seven alleged Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps soldiers who were operating drone strikes from a base inside Syria.
On Saturday, the commmander-in-chief of the Iranian army General Abdolrahim Mousavi shook his fist at Israel, after warning Israelis, “You have nowhere to flee except into the sea. Only 25 years remain until the destruction of the Zionist entity.”