Washington: Amid rising tensions with Iran on the nuclear issue, the United States and Israel have decided to hold one of their largest joint military exercises in the region. More than 1,000 US troops are already on their way to Israel for “Austere Challenge 12” and would be located in various parts of the country for the next several weeks, a top US military leader told reporters yesterday, adding that in all more than 3,500 US military personnel would participate in the defence exercise.
The joint exercise has been announced in the wake of the stand-off on nuclear issue, with Iran insisting that its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes while the West accuses it of working to develop nuclear weapons. Gen Craig Franklin, Commander of Third Air Force, regional air defence commander for US European Command, said that the planning for this exercise has been going on for two years. However he did not announce the exact dates of the start of the exercise. “US European Command plans to deploy elements of Patriot air defence batteries, an Aegis ballistic missile defence ship, and related air defence systems. They will be integrated with other US and Israeli assets as part of an overall comprehensive air missile defence network for the exercise,” Franklin said,adding that this is the largest exercise in the history of the long-standing military relationship between the US and Israel. “This exercise is purely about improving on our combined US-Israeli military capabilities, it’s about military teamwork. (Agencies)
