US airpower building up in Europe

The US is rapidly building up combat air power in Europe as a deterrent to Russia’s growing aggressive stance along the borders of Ukraine. At least 60 additional aircraft consisting of fighter jets, strategic bombers, reconnaissance and surveillance planes and Reaper drones have been sent from the US to Europe or redeployed from Germany and the UK to Poland, Romania and the Baltics. In the latest deployment, a dozen F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighters have been to the region and have arrived at Spangdahlem air base in Germany from Utah. “We are facing a dynamic environment and this deployment significantly enhances our support to Nato’s defences, “ General Jeffrey Harrigian, commander of US air forces in Europe and head of allied air command, said in a statement. The US air force’s advanced fifth-generation stealth fighters are now part of a growing show of force by America and Nato allies in eastern Europe, the Baltics, Germany and the UK. Four B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers flew from their base in North Dakota to RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire last week, and six US KC-135 Stratotankers were sent from RAF Mildenhall in Cambridgeshire to Ramstein air base in Germany for midair refuelling operations. In addition, on Monday eight US F-15E Strike Eagles from North Carolina arrived at Lask in Poland where Nato already has a substantial presence of fighter aircraft. There are now 16 US F-15s of different varieties carrying out patrols from Lask. There are also eight F-16s at Fetesti in Romania and six F-15s at Amari in Estonia. The significant increase in US and Nato air power matches similar reinforcements of warships, troops (6,000 American soldiers from the US so far) and support units to the region. Their mission is to provide maximum deterrence to stop the risk of any Russian invasion of Ukraine spilling over into Nato member territory. The US has around 220 aircraft normally based throughout Europe, including in the UK, Italy, Turkey and Germany. That total is a mixture of fighter aircraft, tankers, transport aircraft and helicopters. However, in the last few weeks, as the Russian troop levels on the Ukraine borders rose from 70,000 to 150,000, the Pentagon decided to ramp up the air power strength. Much of the Russian air power in the region is now in Belarus whose border with Ukraine is just 41 miles from the capital, Kyiv. The Russian fighter aircraft include Su-35S Flankers and Su-25SM Frogfoots. The multirole Flankers are based at Baranovichi which is about 300 miles east of Lask in Poland.