Israel's IDF, USCENTCOM hold joint aerial drill 'Desert Falcon' over Negev to deter Iran

Israel Air Force and pilots from America’s Middle East-focused Command known as the United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT) on Sunday conducted a joint exercise ‘Desert Falcon’ simulating airstrikes and dog fights in an act of deterrence to the Iranian threat. Israel’s IAF’s 119th Bat Squadron that flies F-16I fighter jets and the 122nd Nachson intelligence-gathering Gulfstream G550 conducted aerial drills alongside the American F-16 jets from the 55th Fighter Squadron against the IAF’s 115th “Red Squadron” that simulated ‘enemy jets’. The combat exercise was held at Israel AirForce’s Ovda Airbase over the Negev desert.

“The Israeli and US Airforce just concluded the 'Desert Falcon' joint exercise in Israel. Our aircrews flew wing-to-wing & trained for various aerial scenarios and strikes,” wrote the IDF on its Twitter handle. “The exercise further strengthened our cooperation and readiness to face any threat.” 

Israeli air teams flew ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with American forces

IDF statement read: “The Israeli air teams flew ‘shoulder-to-shoulder’ with American teams and simulated joint responses to aerial threats and strikes on targets, through education, cooperation, and mutual growth.” It continued that the aerial exercise with the United States Airforce represents an important milestone in the strengthening of international-strategic cooperation between Israel and the US, and contributes to the readiness of the military forces on both sides. 

Sunday’s Desert Falcon aerial exercise is the latest among the series of drills conducted by IDF and USAF since the command shift of the IDF-EUCOM-CENTCOM. The former Trump administration had iterated that Abraham Accords between Israel and various Arab states serve as “a strategic opportunity to align key US partners against shared threats in the Middle East.” In order to shape the regional agenda for the Biden administration and enhance the Arab-Israeli cooperation against Iran, Trump moved Israel to CENTCOM’s area of responsibility to deal with the regional threat posed by Tehran. Since then the IDF has conducted scores of drills with USCENTCOM, the United States Air Force Central Command (AFCENT), and NAVCENT.

A military drill was also held in November 2021 by the IDF with Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in the Red Sea ‘to counter Iran’s aggression. It was the first public military cooperation between Jerusalem and Manama against the Iranian threat to deter their mutual adversary’s presence in Middle Eastern waters. “This [Iranian] presence is something that we need to push back as much as possible from the State of Israel, from the Red Sea, from the areas that harm our freedom to sail. In order to do that, we need to make our partnerships tighter,” a senior IDF military official had reportedly stated at the time.

US Central Command’s 5th Fleet has been training with regional partners to enhance our collective maritime security capabilities, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the 5th Fleet, said in a statement. IDF’s jets have also escorted US Air Force B-1B strategic bombers dubbed as “The Bone” via the Israeli air corridor towards the Persian Gulf and key areas in the Middle East along with the fighter jets from Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia in defiance to Iranian aggression.