From November 3rd-14th, the Blue Flag Exercise was held at the Ovda Air Force Base in southern Israel.
This was the first international "Fifth Generation” exercise held in Israel involving the F-35 aircraft. The exercise was of paramount strategic importance and will have a significant impact on the Israeli Air Force, the IDF and the State of Israel. The exercise included over a thousand air crews and technical and administrative personnel from different air forces.
This year, several countries took part in the exercise, including: Germany, Italy, Greece, and the United States. Air crews and pilots, including aircraft of participating countries, arrived in Israel and simulated various scenarios. The cooperation enabled high-quality international training, mutual learning, and development of flight techniques, and after action-review techniques offered an opportunity to strengthen relations between countries.
As part of the exercise, dozens of Israeli aircraft were deployed in which the IAF practiced air-to-air and ground-combat scenarios, dealing with advanced TAC threats as well as enemy combat scenarios, together with the other air forces. This deployment provided an opportunity for joint flights over a wide range of threat scenarios combined with advanced technology.
Summing up the exercise, Air Force Spokesmen said: "The IAF is practicing and will continue to practice in collaboration with foreign air forces to maintain its competence and readiness, to strengthen the ties and interests between the forces, and to encourage and strengthen the joint learning between the forces."