US airpower arrives on NATO’s eastern flank: Six F-35 Lightning fighters fortify allied airspace in the Baltics and Black Sea regions as Russia continues its bloody invasion of Ukraine
On Thursday, a total of six F-35s forward deployed east from Germany to bases in Estonia, Lithuania and Romania, as part of a broader shuffling of troops and equipment announced this week by President Joe Biden.
Biden has said that the movement is defensive in nature and that the U.S. has ‘no intention of fighting Russia’, but vowed to defend ‘every inch of NATO territory with a full force of American power.’ Ukraine is not a member of NATO.
‘We are facing a dynamic environment, and the deployment of F-35s to NATO’s eastern flank enhances our defensive posture and amplifies the Alliance’s interoperability,’ said General Jeffrey L. Harrigian, U.S. Air Force in Europe–Air Forces Africa commander, in a statement.
The fighter jets from the 388th Fighter Wing and Reserve 419th Fighter Wing had been operating out of Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany.
Photos show two of the advanced F-35 fighter jets landing on Thursday at Romania’s 86th Air Base, less than 100 miles from where the Danube River forms the border with Ukraine.
As well, an undisclosed number of F-35 fighters landed Thursday afternoon at NATO’s air base in Amari, near Estonia’s capital Tallinn, Estonian media reported. F-35 fighters were reported to have arrived also at NATO’s air base in Lithuania
‘The F-35 provides unprecedented communication capabilities, command and control, and lethality for the combined and joint force,’ said U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa in a written statement.
‘These capabilities afford NATO leaders the flexibility to project power and assert air dominance in highly contested environments.’
Biden on Thursday directed that an additional 7,000 U.S. service members be deployed to Germany to enhance deterrence of Russia.
Most of the additional troops will come from the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia, said a senior defense official speaking on background.
