An estimated 150 airmen and 14 Air Force aircraft showed up at Ilopango AB, El Salvador, and Guatemala City, Guatemala, to participate in two international air shows as part of a US Southern Command initiative to collaborate with the Central American countries. Both the USAF Thunderbirds and Air Combat Command’s F-15 West Coast Demonstration Team headlined the two shows.
Secretary of Defense Austin Lloyd III met with his counterparts from Australia, Japan and the Philippines to discuss bolstering defense ties on May 2. The discussion included plans for joint F-35 exercises with Japan and Australia in the coming years.