US, UK, Australia perform China-focused joint air drills over Nevada desert, past

The joint drills by the US, UK and Australia on the Black Sea coaching vary had been carried out days after a US fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 10, 2023 07:57 IST

Drills on the Black Sea coaching vary in Capu Midia (Photo: Reuters)

By India Today Web Desk: In an effort to stimulate high-end fight operations in opposition to Chinese fighter plane and air defenses, the United States, Britain and Australia on Wednesday carried out joint air drills over the Nevada desert and past.

Earlier on Saturday, a suspected Chinese spy balloon was shot down by a US fighter jet off the coast of South Carolina.

According to US Air Force Colonel Jared J. Hutchinson, commander of the 414th Combat Training Squadron that runs the Red Flag, the annual drills weren’t tied to any latest occasions.

“(China is) just the pacing challenge that we train to so that we’re ready. We think that if we’re ready for China, we’re ready for anybody,” Hutchinson was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Air Commodore John Lyle, commander of the RAF’s Air Mobility Force, advised Reuters the mission through the Red Flag drills would simulate bringing the air forces into “an area where there has been an invasion by a hostile country.”

“So our role will be to support the force to effectively proceed into the area that’s been occupied and to undertake targeting of key assets to allow us to degrade the enemy’s capabilities,” Lyle mentioned, with out mentioning China by identify, or figuring out what simulated space had been invaded.

US-CHINA RELATIONS

In latest years, the Pentagon has voiced rising concern concerning the strain of Beijing on self-ruled Taiwan.

The US authorities has recognized China because the US navy’s high strategic precedence, even because it devotes billions of {dollars} to assist Kyiv in repelling invading Russian forces.

Speaking final week in Washington, US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns additionally cautioned the United States knew “as a matter of intelligence” that Xi had ordered his navy to be able to conduct an invasion of self-governed Taiwan by 2027.

“Now, that does not mean that he’s decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it’s a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition,” Burns advised an occasion at Georgetown University in Washington.

Meanwhile, past the tanker plane, Britain additionally flew Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets within the workout routines.

Australia contributed EA-18G Growler plane, in accordance with information supplied by Red Flag organizers.

Published On:

Feb 10, 2023