Intel: US Air Force trains with Israel’s newest F-35 squadron

Oct 15, 2020

US and Israeli F-35 fighter aircraft took to the skies over southern Israel this week for the third such combined training exercise this year.

The exercise, Enduring Lightning III, involved Israeli and US variants of the stealth F-35 Joint Strike Fighter conducting simulated combat with mock ground and air targets, the US Air Force said in a statement.

US expeditionary air squadrons out of Utah and Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base took part in this week’s exercise, along with a KC-10 extender and a KC-135 Stratotanker, which conducted midair refueling.

This installment of Enduring Lightning III also involved Israel’s second and newest F-35 unit, the 116th combat squadron, dubbed the “Lions of the South” and declared operational in August. Israeli F-16s from the Israeli air force’s 115th Squadron also served as mock enemy fighters during the drills.

Israel was the first country to join the United States’ F-35 program, and has planned to buy up to 50 of the aircraft in the years to come.