The US Air Force, in conjunction with NATO partners, conducted a “target designation in all areas” in the Black Sea region, Air Force Magazine reports, citing a statement from the US Air Force Command in Europe and Africa. From the latter, in particular, it follows that the Western military could carry out a mission involving the development of a breakthrough of the Russian air defense (air defense) in the region.
According to the American magazine, this event demonstrated the ability of the US military aviation and its NATO allies to operate in the Black Sea, involving the generation of “firepower inside the area that the enemy considers protected by blocking technology, restricting and denying access and maneuver”, as well as increasing readiness and the degree of operational unpredictability for the adversary.
In particular, during the operation, the F-16 Fighting Falcon of the US Air Force, accompanied by the same aircraft of the Romanian Air Force, worked out the strategies for using the AGM-158 Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile (JASSM) missile. Refueling of American aircraft was provided by the KC-135 Stratotanker air tanker of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, and anti-submarine reconnaissance was provided by the P-8 Poseidon aircraft of the US Navy.
In September 2019, the commander of the US Air Force in Europe, Jeffrey Harrigan, announced that the Pentagon had a plan to break through the multilayer air defense of the Kaliningrad region.
In August 2018, he also claimed that for the past year and a half, the United States has been actively collecting data on Russian military equipment and its capabilities in Syria.
