IDF holds flight exercise ahead of Iran talks
IAF holds drill to examine abilities to reach remote destinations. 'When we say all options are on the table, we're talking about military options as well,' IDF website says, noting drill was to prepare troops to any possible threat
In one of the highlights of the drill, where the Air Force cooperated with a foreign army, fighter jets were fueled midair.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held several interviews with European media outlets, warning against Iranian fraud in the nuclear talks with the West, which are to be held next week in Geneva.
The IDF website defined the mid-air fueling as "testing the abilities to fly long distances. When we say, 'all options are on the table', we're talking about military options as well. The Air Force, the longest reaching arm of the IDF, is responsible for realizing that option if it is so required. In the force, we're enforcing a range of abilities, including long-term flights. In this field the Air Force is required to develop all relevant ability, from a pinpointed activity to a wide-range action."
Almost all of the F-15 and F-16 squadrons of the IAF participated in the drill, and training similar to it is held several times a year.
The IDF said the training, which is expected to go on until next week, is no different from drills that took place in recent years, practicing operational planning, flight, fueling and radio control.
The commander of one of the squadrons thatho took part in the drill said: "Challenges in a flight like this start in the planning phase, and continue in the flight itself which is far from home, in unfamiliar weather and terrain conditions, as well as all possible threats."
The Air Force stressed that "The training sharpened the ability and connected the whole of the components and squadrons to the unique and complex training. In the personal aspect pilots talk about a lengthy flight requiring special physical training and preparations."
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