Approximately 150 airmen from the 492nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, deployed to Bulgaria July 11 to take part in the two-week training exercise dubbed Immediate Response that pairs US and Bulgarian forces, reports Stars and Stripes. Ten F-15E Strike Eagles from the 492nd are scheduled to fly to Bulgaria for the start of the exercise on July 19. The 492nd plans to conduct air-to-air training with Bulgarian MiG-21s and MiG-29s.
Fresh off the first combat deployment of its new EA-37B, the Air Force is nearly doubling the planned number of new electronic attack jets and projecting more than $3 billion in spending on the program in the next five years.