The United States Air Force is sending more than two dozen F-22 stealth fighters to an exercise in the western Pacific this month.
Pacific Air Forces in Hawaii this week announced that 25 F-22s Raptors will deploy this month to Guam and Tinian islands.
It’s all part of Operation Pacific Iron 2021.
“We have never had this many Raptors deployed together in the Pacific Air Forces area of operations,” Gen. Ken Wilsbach, Pacific Air Forces commander, told CNN.
The F-22s are fifth-generation combat jets, the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft.
They incorporatie stealth technologies and connecting on-board sensor systems with off-board information systems to give their pilots a detailed view of the battle space.
An F-22 Raptor from the 1st Fighter Wing.
They work hand in hand with the F-35 JSFs, which are operated by allies including Australia.
The Chinese air force has about 20 to 24 operational fifth-generation fighters, Schuster said, but he noted Beijing’s capabilities are improving at a rapid pace.
Operation Pacific Iron
For Operation Pacific Iron, 10 F-15 Strike Eagle fighters from Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho and two C-130J Hercules transport planes from Yokota Air Base in Japan will join the F-22s to fill out the air fleet for what the Air Force calls an Agile Combat Employment operation, also referred to as a combat dispersal operation, according to a statement from Pacific Air Forces.
The exercise is in support of the 2018 National Defense Strategy, “which called on the military to be a more lethal, adaptive, and resilient force,” the statement said.
The Chinese property market is currently facing a crisis, with major developers like Evergrande and Country Garden experiencing significant financial challenges.
This alarming situation has garnered global attention due to its potential impact on the Chinese and international economies.
Evergrande, one of China’s largest property developers, has been struggling with a massive debt burden, exceeding $300 billion. This has raised concerns about the company’s ability to meet its financial obligations, causing a ripple effect across the property market. Country Garden, another prominent player in the industry, is also facing mounting debt pressures, further exacerbating the crisis.
The property market’s decline can be attributed to several factors, including government policies aimed at curbing excessive borrowing, a slowing economy, and a general shift towards more sustainable and affordable housing options.
These challenges have created uncertainty in the market, leading to a decrease in property sales and declining developer revenues.
The implications of this crisis extend beyond the property sector, with potential repercussions for the broader Chinese economy. #ticker today #featured
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will highlight the NATO alliance’s ongoing support for Ukraine in its war with Russia in Europe.
The war between Israel and Hamas and heightened tensions in the wider Middle East have raised concerns that Washington cannot sustain the level of military and diplomatic support it has given Ukraine since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion.
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O’Brien also told reporters that Blinken, who departed on Monday for Brussels, will highlight the ongoing commitment of the United States and its allies as he takes part in the first foreign minister-level meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council in Brussels.
“This is part of the process of finding a place in the alliance, which we’ve always said is Ukraine’s future,” he said. #featured