WASHINGTON — The United States and Israel on Sunday kicked off the second iteration of a new series of war games designed to enable the Israeli air force to partake in long-range strikes on strategic targets hundreds of miles away from the country’s own airspace.
The latest Juniper Oak exercise began in Israel on Sunday with the participation of US F-16s, a KC-10 and a KC-46 tanker aircraft to support mid-air refueling, according to the Pentagon’s Middle East regional command headquarters.
“The exercise will incorporate a number of scenarios, including long-range strategic striking, the achievement of aerial superiority in the region and cyber defense in the face of a variety of threats,” the Israeli military said in a press release on Monday.
The five-day event will include “bilateral cyber incident response” and “agile combat employment (offensive air [exercises]) within Israel,” the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a separate press release.
