US Air Force F-22 Raptor fighter jets have begun training NATO flights in Estonia, a local broadcaster reported on Wednesday. According to the report, 12 fighter jets were transferred from the USA to a Polish airbase for military drills in early April, 2023.
Three of the fighters arrived at Estonia’s Amari airbase near Tallinn this week. The drills include the practice of quickly responding to threats in cooperation with other NATO countries.
US Ambassador in Estonia George Kent told the broadcaster that the fighters conduct joint flights with pilots from other countries.
This morning, the pilots flew down to Lithuania, and we’re working with Portuguese and Romanian pilots, and they hope, perhaps tomorrow, to be up in the air with British Typhoons also operating out of Amari.
This is not the first time F-22’s have visited Amari. I think the first time was in 2015, and I anticipate they will also be back. And that’s an issue for our two militaries to discuss the timing and purpose.
According to the US Embassy in Estonia, the USA has invested over 33 million euros ($36 million) in infrastructure at the Amari airbase since 2015.
The latest facility built on the premises of the airbase was a fuel storage facility capable of storing some 2,000 cubic meters of fuel. Moreover, the USA has built a dormitory housing about 220 service people and an aircraft maintenance hangar.
These projects have helped increase the capacity of the Amari airbase for operations in support of regional security, the embassy said.
Sputnik / ABC Flash Point NATO News 2023.
I suppose US military bases are still Halliburton’s business (or KBR, or whatever their latest name for their military subsidiary, since they apparently felt the need to change it after 9/11)…
Who cares? it’s longest range missile is the AIM-120D – 86 nm 🤣 The SU-57 carries the R-37 which is a hyper-sonic A2A missile with a range of 214 nm! The POSF-22 wouldn’t even know what hit him!! 🤣🤣 🖕 the west!!