STUTTGART, Germany – Ten A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, an MC-130J Commando II, and approximately 270 Airmen from bases in the U.S. and Europe will deploy to Amari Air Base, Estonia, Aug. 4-20, to participate in a Forward Training Deployment (FTD) to increase interoperability and relations between Airmen.

“We are strong members of the NATO Alliance and remain prepared with credible force to assure, deter and defend our Allies,” said Maj. Gen. Jon K. Kelk, Air National Guard Assistant to the Commander, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Air Forces Africa. “When we have the opportunity to train with coalition air forces, everyone benefits.”

While deployed, the A-10s are scheduled to train with the Finnish air force F/A-18 Hornets in Finland, Spanish air force F/A-18 Hornets in Estonia and multinational JTACs in Latvia.

The A-10s are from the 175th Wing, Warfield Air National Guard Base, Md. The MC-130J is from the 352nd Special Operations Wing, RAF Mildenhall, U.K.

Flight operations will take place in Finnish, Estonian, Latvian and international airspace.

--30--

For more information, contact +49 (0) 6371-47-6558 or via e-mail at usafepao.pao@us.af.mil. If after duty hours, please call +49 (0) 1624-25-5428 or send an e-mail to usafepa.pastaffdutyofficer@us.af.mil.

U.S. European Command is one of the United States’ two forward-deployed Geographic Combatant Commands whose area of focus cover almost one-fifth of the planet, including all of Europe, large portions of Asia, parts of the Middle East and the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. The command is responsible for military relations with NATO and 51 countries with a total population of close to a billion people.