F-22 Raptor (Image: Wiki Commons) |
SYDNEY: While it will be a short deployment, Australia and the United States have agreed to deploy America’s most advanced fighter next year as part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation (EAC) Initiative that has seen B-2 bombers and other advanced American aircraft deployed to the lucky country.
Adm. Harry Harris, head of Pacific Command, disclosed the news during a Q and A session at the Lowy Institute, a foreign policy thinktank here. Harris, fresh from a short visit to the seemingly always turbulent island state of Papua New Guinea, did not disclose how many F-22s would fly to the Royal Australian Air Force‘s base in Tindal.
While the US Marines have gotten most of the press for their now sort of regular six-month deployments to the northern port city of Darwin, 2017 marks a significant ramp-up in the air portion of America’s military commitment to — arguably — our closest ally.
Read the full story at Breaking Defense