Israel, France Held Joint Aerial Exercise (Photos)
On December 9, the Israeli Air Force announced it concluded a joint aerial exercise with the French Air and Space Force and Navy over Israel’s skies that simulated airstrikes and combating aerial threats.
During the aerial exercise, dubbed Eastern Breeze, four French Navy Rafale fighter jets flew side by side with Israeli F-16i fighter jets. The Charles de Gaulle carrier, the flagship of the French Navy, arrived in the Mediterranean Sea with the Rafale fighter jets on board earlier this week.
In a statement, the Israeli Defense Ministry said that the aircrews “flew wing-to-wing while practicing joint strikes and counteracting aerial threats in an effort to share knowledge and benefit from one another.”
“The exercise was an important milestone in the development of the strategic cooperation between the IAF and the [French military] and improved the forces’ readiness,” it added.
The aerial exercise was the most recent in a series of international drills that took place in Israel this year. Last week, Israeli forces held a joint exercise with the United States military, simulating strikes against Iran and its allies in the Middle East.
Military cooperation between Israel and France has been growing. In September, Israel’s Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi visited France to discuss the threat of posed by Iran and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah. Paris maintains a strong influence over Beirut to this day.
Recently, both Israel and France were among several states accused by Tehran of supporting a wave of protests and violence that hit Iran after the death of Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in mid-September. This is another reason that might have brought the two states closer.
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