Turkey, US hold joint air drills in Konya

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The Turkish and U nited States air forces began joint air exercises yesterday in Turkey’s central province of Konya, which will end on March 16, sources from the U.S. base at Spangdahlem, Germany said.

The drills, known as Anatolian Falcon 2012, are a bilateral initiative and do not involve other countries, the sources said. Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment.

A statement from the U.S. base this weekend said that 15 aircraft from the 480th Fighter Squadron and more than 250 support airmen had departed “for the weapons-training deployment geared to expanding and honing military interoperability between the U.S. and Turkish air forces.”

Bi-lateral training exercise
Anatolian Falcon 2012 is a bi-lateral training exercise involving air missions that include interdiction, attack, air superiority, defense suppression, airlift, air refueling and reconnaissance, it said.

“The 480th is excited to get on the road to fly with our NATO ally and strengthen the bonds that have been built during the last 60 years,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Paul Murray, 480th FS commander.
“In addition, this is an excellent opportunity to exercise our military interoperability as we pursue together regional peace and stability.”