A NATO AWACS surveillance aircraft arrived at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., on Aug. 8 from its home at Geilenkirchen, Germany, for three weeks of training with the F-15Es of the 4th Fighter Wing. It will stay through Wednesday. Turkish Air Force Capt. Gurhan Tarman, co-pilot of the AWACS, said the aircraft is serving as “the eyes” of the friendly F-15Es that engage in mock dogfights with other F-15Es of the wing playing the role of the Red force. Capt. Nicholas Suppa, assistant director of staff of the wing’s 335th Fighter Squadron, said the training is also a valuable experience for building coalition interoperability. And it gives the fighter pilots the opportunity to receive face-to-face briefs and debriefs with an AWACS crew, he said. (Seymour Johnson report by A1C Marissa Tucker)
The U.S. has approved a $310.5 million Foreign Military Sale to provide Ukraine with maintenance and training for its F-16 fighter jets, the State Department announced May 2. Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force has been sending retired F-16s to Ukraine to be used for spare parts.