United States is sending even more F-15s to Europe

[Hindustani78]

US is sending even more F-15s to Europe - Business Insider
Mar. 27, 2015, 2:51 PM

It looks like the military build-up in eastern Europe continues.

The US Air Force is deploying 12 F-15C belonging to the 125th Fighter Wing, Florida Air National Guard, Jacksonville, Fla., to Europe.

The Eagles, part of the first Theater Security Package (TSP) will first operate from Leeuwarden airbase, in the Netherlands.

They will take part in the Frisian Flag multinational exercise and are then expected to move east and be temporarily based at Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria.

The Air National Guard F-15s are the second TSP to deploy to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the mission aimed at showing Washington’s commitment to peace and stability in the region and reassure local allies amid growing tensions with Russia following the annexation of Crimea last year.

Last month, 12 A-10s of the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, deployed to Germany as part of the first theater security rotation on the continent. The unit first flew from Spangdahlem air base, and then moved to RAF Lakenheath, UK, and to Poland.

TSPs are not the only US forces currently operating from Europe: 14 F-16s from Aviano airbase have deployed to Estonia to conduct joint training with local military forces.


Leeuwarden airbase, in the Netherlands.

Graf Ignatievo, Bulgaria.

Spangdahlem air base

amari airbase

 

[Hindustani78]

Pilots assigned to the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron exit their F-15C Eagles after landing at Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, on April 1. The F-15s from the Florida and Oregon Air National Guard are deployed to Europe as the first-ever ANG theater security package there. Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane/Air Forc

An F-15C Eagle pilot assigned to the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron taxis his aircraft into position at Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, on April 1. The F-15s from the Florida and Oregon Air National Guard are deployed to Europe as the first-ever ANG theater security package there. These F-15s will conduct training to strengthen interoperability and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security and stability of Europe. Staff Sgt. Ryan Crane/Air Force

 

[Hindustani78]

By Joe Gould 3:11 p.m. EDT April 19, 2015
US Removing 24 Apaches from Europe

WASHINGTON — The US Army plans to transfer 24 attack helicopters from Germany to Alaska over the next two years as part of a larger cost-saving aviation plan, according to a senior Army official, but the move could send mixed signals as Washington tries to reassure European allies amid Russian aggression.

Maj. Gen. Gary Cheek, Army assistant deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and policy, told reporters on April 14 that 24 AH-64 Apache helicopters from Germany will join a company, or 12, unmanned Gray Eagles in Alaska by 2017.

Only one combat aviation brigade (CAB) is permanently stationed in Europe, the 12th CAB, headquartered in Katterbach. An Army spokesman would not confirm it as the source of the Apaches — a sensitive issue as the Army has yet to formally announce two of the three combat aviation brigades it plans to render inactive.

With budget-driven efforts to draw down its presence in Europe on the one hand and a need to deter Russian aggression on the other, the US is walking a fine line. Analysts said moving Apaches now would be out of balance.

"At a time when the US is rightly pressing our European allies to do more, reducing real capability in Europe sends the wrong message — to our allies and to the Russians," said former US Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder, now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. "This is a time when budget decisions need to be reviewed in terms of geopolitical reality — which now includes a growing Russian threat to security in Europe."