USAF deploys F-16s from Aviano AB to Croatia
Two F-16s deployed from Aviano Air Base, Italy, to Croatia on March 16, taking part in combat employment exercises and bolstering NATO’s southeastern flank, the Air Force announced.
The F-16 fighters’ arrival comes just a few days after a military drone crashed in the Croatian capital of Zagreb amid nearby war between Russia and Ukraine. Croatian officials say the drone had a bomb, but they have not determined whether it was Russian or Ukrainian. The incident has led Croatian leaders to criticize NATO for a perceived slow response.
On March 15, Newsweek reported that Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said in a press conference that the U.S. would send the F-16s to “give support of Croatia’s security.”
A subsequent press release from U.S. Air Forces in Europe stated that the fighters would deploy to Croatia’s 91st Air Base at Pleso, just outside the capital.
This marks just the latest deployment of USAF fighters to Eastern Europe. In the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, F-16s deployed to Romania, F-15s went to Poland, and F-35s landed in Germany. As the invasion first unfolded, F-35s from Germany were deployed to NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania. A B-52 also deployed to the region around the same time, as part of what USAFE called a “long-planned Bomber Task Force Europe mission over the Arctic and Baltic Sea regions.”
NATO deploys Patriot missiles to Slovakia
The Patriot air defence system has started arriving in Slovakia from NATO countries.
The system will be operated by German and Dutch troops and will initially be deployed at the Sliac airport to help reinforce the defence of NATO's eastern flank.
The Patriot system will be part of a new NATO battlegroup in Slovakia, which neighbours Ukraine.
Russia has warned against any shipments of advanced air defences to Ukraine and has warned it may target Western arms supplies.
Production of first New Zealand P-8 has started
Boeing has “laid the keel” of the first P-8A destined for the New Zealand Defence Force, . New Zealand holds orders for four of the jets.
Aircraft keels run the length of fuselage bellies, though P-8 keels have “unique aspects of the P-8 configuration, such as the integration of an internal weapons bay”, Boeing says.
The New Zealand Defence Force will use the Boeing-built maritime patrol aircraft, powered by CFM International CFM56 turbofans, to replace six ageing Lockheed P-3K2 Orion turboprops.
Current operators include the armed forces of Australia, India, Norway, the United Kingdom and the USA. Customers yet to begin flying the jets include Germany, New Zealand and South Korea.
MiG-31 Still Strong launching Kinzhal Hypersonyc Missiles in Ukraine war
Russia announced the use of the Kh-47M2 Kinzhal (Dagger) air-launched high-speed ballistic missile for the first time against a target in Ukraine on 19 March.
A video released by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Russian Federation purportedly showed the missile being used against a Ukrainian ammunition depot in the west of the country.
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