Two F-22 Raptor jets fly over the Pacific Ocean during a security mission on March 9, 2009. On Aug. 24, 2015, U.S. Air Force leaders announced F-22s would be deployed to Europe for the first time. U.S. Air Force photo by Kevin J. Gruenwald/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- The United States is deploying F-22 Raptor jets to Europe for the first time, according to the U.S. Air Force.
"Russia's military activity in the Ukraine continues to be of great concern to us and to our European allies," CNN quoted Air Force Secretary Deborah James as saying at a briefing Monday. "This inaugural F-22 training deployment will train with our joint partners and our NATO allies across Europe as part of our continued effort to assure our allies and demonstrate our commitments to security and stability of Europe."
Security reasons prevented James from disclosing where exactly the aircraft would deploy and how many would be involved. She said the deployment was happening "very soon."
"We'll get the F-22 into facilities that we would potentially use in a conflict in Europe, things like the bases where we do aviation attachments, to places where we do air-policing missions," CNN quoted Gen. Mark Welsh III, the Air Force chief of staff, as saying.
The F-22 is a stealth fighter aircraft that was introduced to service in 2005 but has only been tested in combat during sorties against Islamic State forces in Syria, which began in September 2014. Primarily an air-to-air fighter, the Raptor also carries munitions for air-to-ground strikes.
A Lockheed Martin website based around the F-22 says it was "developed to counter the increasing sophistication and threat of hostile air forces and integrated air defense systems in use around the world," boasting it will "provide air dominance and a precision ground attack capability for U.S. forces for the next 40 years."
The Air Force recently sent an additional 12 A-10 Thunderbolts, also known as Warthogs, to Europe for an upcoming training exercise, the Washington Post reports.
Air Force F-15s and F-16s have also been a part of such rotations.
NATO reported more than 150 Russian intrusions into European air space in 2014, when the Ukraine conflict broke out. After Russia annexed Crimea, several Western nations accused Moscow of supplying weaponry and troops to assist pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, which Russia has denied.
James echoed U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter's statement last week, telling reporters the "approach to Russia needs to be strong and it needs to be balanced."
"Rotational forces and training exercises help us maintain our strong and balanced approach, and we will certainly be continuing those in the future," Defense News quoted her as saying. "For the Air Force, an F-22 deployment is certainly on the strong side of the coin."
