BICOM

Dozens of Israeli Air Force officials, including pilots, navigators and support staff have returned Wednesday from a three-week exercise at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base. For the first time since 2009, Israeli aircrews flew alongside colleagues from the United States, Singapore and the Kingdom of Jordan.

In July, Haaretz reported that around ten Israeli military aircraft would participate in the training, which included flying missions both in daylight and at night, as well as aerial refueling, interceptions, escorts, strikes, and downed pilot rescues. Previous reports indicated that Royal Jordanian Air Force F-16 jets were accompanied across the Atlantic Ocean by Israeli Air Force KC-707 fuel tankers, signalling a new level of cooperation between the two countries.

It has been reported that Israel and Jordan have been collaborating in the fight against ISIS. Reuters recently reported that Israel handed over a fleet of Cobra combat helicopters to Jordan, in order to help its neighbour fend off the Islamic State. Apparently, last year Israel gave Jordan around 16 decommissioned Cobra helicopters, which had been retired and replaced by US-supplied Apache helicopters instead.

Israeli involvement in “Red Flag” is also significant because it indicates that despite the discord between the political leaderships in Washington DC and Jerusalem the security cooperation between the two countries continues to develop.