A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic bomber © Reuters
On November 11, Israel and Saudi fighter jets took turns escorting two American B-1B supersonic strategic heavy bombers during a presence patrol mission over the Middle East.
In a statement, the US Air Forces Central said that Israeli and Saudi fighter jets joined the patrol over their respective airspaces, while US fighter jets provided escort.
2 @usairforce B-1Bs flew with partner nations demonstrating presence and power Nov 11. #PresencePatrol is vital for aircrew to practice flying with our coalition partners and in their airspace, ultimately, making us #StrongerTogether
Read more➡️https://t.co/DEd0X6GyaW pic.twitter.com/azkgdcgPmP
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) November 11, 2021
#FlyFightWin @IAFsite F-15s combined with @usairforce B-1B Lancers demonstrates strong partnership and integrated defense capabilities in @CENTCOM. Military readiness depends on reliable partnerships. pic.twitter.com/2EFNFs20KK
— US AFCENT (@USAFCENT) November 11, 2021
The two-hour presence patrol flew into the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility over the Red Sea and conducted rejoins with “partner nations” along the flight path before departing the region.
“Today’s presence patrol mission was an impressive demonstration of our combined power projection capabilities,” said Lt. Gen. Greg Guillot, Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) commander. “Simply put, each of our air forces is strong, and we are even stronger together.”
The Israeli Air Force said that joint flight demonstrates the continued cooperation of the Israel Defense Forces with the United States.
Earlier today, F-15 fighter jets escorted two American B-1B bombers and an American KC-10 refueler through Israeli skies on their way from the Gulf. pic.twitter.com/FHYEsic5eg
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) November 11, 2021
From its side, the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia said that the flight contributed to the cooperation between the Saudi and US air forces to maintain the security and stability of the region.
المقاتلات #السعودية و #الأمريكية ترافق قاذفتين أمريكية إستراتيجية من نوع (بي-1).https://t.co/1q25iuMRm6 pic.twitter.com/rbMEfNPrOv
— وزارة الدفاع 🇸🇦 (@modgovksa) November 11, 2021
The CENTCOM coordinated five similar patrols since the beginning of the year, three in January, one in March and one in October.
The joint flight highlights the growing military coordination between Israel and the US Arab allies. Just a day earlier, forces from the United Arab Emiratis, Bahrain, Israel and US Naval Forces Central Command kicked off a multilateral maritime security operations exercise in the Red Sea.
These moves are, without a doubt, meant to mount more pressure on Iran ahead of the upcoming nuclear talks with the US in Vienna.
