Hundreds of US Air Force Officials in Israel for Joint Drill

Hundreds of US Air Force personnel have arrived to Israel for the purpose of participating in the joint "Juniper Stallion 13" exercise, one of the largest exercises held together by Israel and the US.

Dozens of US Air Force and IAF squadrons are presently located at the IDF Nevatim Airbase ahead of the exercise, which begins on Monday and will continue over the course of the week. Juniper Stallion will see F-15 and F-16 fighters carry out numerous air-to-air exercises. According to IDF sources, Juniper Stallion is part of a series of annual exercises that will be carried out by the two countries.

US Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who welcomed US forces arriving for the exercise in Israel, stated that "Juniper Stallion 13 is a bilateral exercise intended to improve the cooperation between our two air forces". Ambassador Shapiro added that the exercise represented "another chapter in the unprecedented security partnership between the US and Israel."