Due to the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, additional US air assets have been deployed to Europe. At Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany (ICAO: ETAD), both the US Air Force and the US Navy deployed additional aircraft. On 18 April 2022, the F-35s, the EA-18Gs and the KC-135s flew their missions that lasted some 4 to 7 hours. US Navy: Six US Navy EA-18G Growlers of Electronic Attack Squadron VAQ-134 flew at the end of March to Germany, departing from Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island, Washington, USA. The purpose of this deployment is to bolster readiness, enhance NATO’s collective defence posture and further increase air integration capabilities with our allied and partner nations. The Growler aircraft are equipped for a variety of missions but they specialise in flying electronic warfare missions, using a suite of jamming sensors to confuse enemy radars, greatly aiding in the ability to conduct suppression of enemy air defence operations. They will be accompanied by about 240 air crew, aircraft maintainers and pilots.
They are not being deployed to be used against Russian forces in Ukraine. They are being deployed completely in keeping with our efforts to bolster NATO’s deterrence and defence capabilities along that eastern flank. The deployment is not in response to a perceived threat or incident. US Air Force: From Hill Air Force Base, the US Air Force sent six Lockheed Martin F-35A aircraft, pilots, maintenance crews and support personnel from the activeduty 388th and Reserve 419th Fighter wings to Germany. Within a week of the deployment, six F-35s would be forward deployed on rotation to three eastern flank countries: Lithuania, Poland, and Romania. For several days, the F-35s took off and landed from NATO countries strategically located and compatible with American aircraft. The six F-35A aircraft have since moved back to Spangdahlem for a full suite of support personnel and their own hangars. Besides the F-35s, the US Air Force located additional Boeing KC-135 refueling aircraft of the 92nd Air Refueling Wing (from Fairchild Air Force Base, Washington) at Spangdahlem Air Base; to support the F-35s and EA-18Gs overhead Europe.
Text and photos: Joris van Boven