US Vermont ANG F-35A med AIM-120 i Makedonia den 17. juni - The War Zone

 

U.S. F-35As Brandish AIM-120 Missiles During Visit To North Macedonia

Two Vermont Air National Guard F-35As carrying live missiles traveled to North Macedonia to train and otherwise reassure a NATO ally.

BYJOSEPH TREVITHICKJUN 17, 2022 7:02 PM

THE WAR ZONE

 

ROBERT ATANASOVSKI/AFP via Getty Images

 

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Apair of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters from the Vermont Air National Guard touched down at Petrovec Military Airport near the city of Skopje, the capital of the eastern European country of North Macedonia, as part of an exercise earlier today. The jets are part of a contingent that has been forward-deployed to Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany since May to support NATO air policing requirements that have expanded in light of the conflict in Ukraine. They arrived at Petrovec armed with live AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAMs.

The F-35As were both carrying a pair AIM-120s, one on each of their two internal bay doors. The missiles could be clearly identified as live rounds by the yellow band around the forward section of the body, which indicates the presence of a high explosive warhead. An additional two missiles were likely also housed in the bays themselves.

The visit to Petrovec by the two jets, both assigned to the Vermont Air National Guard 134th Fighter Squadron appears to be the first time Joint Strike Fighters of any kind have touched down in North Macedonia or any other country in the Balkans. U.S. Air Forces in Europe (USAFE), the Air Force's top command in Europe, said the objective of sending the jets there today was to demonstrate Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concepts of operations and to reassure a NATO ally.