U.S. F-15 fighter jets to take part in largest Ukrainian aviation exercise

August 12, 2018 (The Defence Blogg) Head of the Press Center of Ukraine’s Air Force, Roman Yurchilo has confirmed the participation U.S. troops in the upcoming Clear Sky 2018 multinational military exercise in Ukraine. Ukraine this year will hold the largest multinational aviation exercise since its independence. The Clear Sky 2018 exercise scheduled to be held in mid-October for two weeks. The countries participating this year will include Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Denmark, the UK, France, Estonia and the United States.

U.S. Air Force F-15 Eagles at Yokota Air Base

U.S. Air Forces officials did not comment on participating in the exercise, although reports that almost 10 aircraft of different types will take part in Clear Sky 2018 multinational military exercise in Ukraine. The US involvement will include F-15 Eagle tactical fighter aircraft, C-130 military transport aircraft, KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft and even MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Clear Sky 2018 multinational military exercise focuses on stability operations and helps promote interoperability among the partner militaries of Ukraine and the United States as well as its NATO allies. From the Ukrainian side, the exercises will be attended by about 20 combat aircraft of various types, helicopters, and unmanned aerial vehicles. Together with Ukrainian and American pilots, tasks in the sky will be performed by their Polish and Romanian colleagues on F-16C aircraft.

According to the idea of the organizers, the Clean Sky-2018 international exercise will contribute to security in Eastern Europe and will allow to raise the level of training of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to fulfill tactical tasks in the allies environment, to achieve a fundamentally new and qualitative level of compatibility with the air forces of the US Armed Forces and other NATO member countries during joint air operations to ensure protection of sovereignty. The exercise will be conducted amid heightened tensions with Moscow, which views any NATO military activities along its border negatively.