Epoch Times
July 17, 2021 Updated: July 17, 2021
Operation Pacific Iron 2021 is scheduled to take place within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility in July to showcase the U.S. air force’s strategic flexibility, according to Pacific Air Forces.
The announcement comes as U.S.-China tensions continue to simmer over the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The exercise involves more than 35 aircraft and approximately 800 Airmen from Pacific Air Forces and Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forcesreported on July 13. Notably, 25 F-22 raptors—a seemingly unprecedented number of its kind to deploy to the West Pacific—will join the drill from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.