The air force of the UAE and Israel will take part in international maneuvers at the Andravida air base in Greece as part of large cooperation to face wars and disasters.
In addition to Greece and the two countries, the US, Canada, France, Cyprus, Israel, Slovenia, Spain will participate.
INIOCHOS 21, which will be led by the Hellenic Air Force, will take place from April 12 to April 22.
The Israeli air force is a permanent participant in the maneuvers, but the Emirati participation is new following the normalization of ties between the two countries.
A source in Tel Aviv, however, said that this is not the first time the UAE and Israel participate in maneuvers together. They took part in INIOCHOS 2018- 2019 as well as in Exercise Red Flag held by the United States Air Force in 2016.
The UAE and Greece will deploy F-16s, while the US will participate with F-15 and F-16 fighters, KC-135 Stratotankers and MQ-9 UAVs. This year’s Israeli participation includes F-15s and F-16s, while France has brought it Rafale and M-2000D aircraft, according to sources in Tel Aviv.
Spain will take part with F/A-18s, while Canada is sending eight officers to participate in the exercise as ground control instructors (GCIs) and Cyprus will contribute with an AW139 helicopter.
Exercises like INIOCHOS promote interoperability and help to strengthen interoperability of allied and partner air forces during joint operations and air defenses in order to maintain joint readiness.
