Israeli-U.S. Joint Exercise Serves as Warning to Iran

Iran is certain to notice the American-Israeli collaboration over Middle Eastern skies.

The U.S. and Israeli Air Forces carried out a joint exercise over the Mediterranean earlier this week, marking the most significant collaboration between the two aerial branches since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, massacre. Dozens of fighter platforms, including the Israeli F-35I and F-15I, flew alongside the American B-52 strategic bomber.

As detailed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), “The exercise aimed to strengthen and maintain the longstanding cooperation between the forces while expanding connectivity and building integrated capabilities for a range of scenarios.” While not specified, it is suspected that the joint drill was intended to practice a strike by the Israeli Air Force (and perhaps the United States) against Iran. At the least, the American-Israeli collaboration in the skies should serve as a warning to Tehran that the IDF has regional backing against the regime and its proxies.

The American-made B-52 “Stratofortress” may be old, but the mighty strategic bomber could serve well into the mid-twenty-first century based on continued upgrades to the platform. Capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear ordnance, the B-52 remains a critical pillar of America’s nuclear triad of deterrence. Upgrades to the bomber over the years include the incorporation of the APG-79B4 radar, which is virtually identical to the export version of the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet with the array turned upside down. Additionally, the B-52 is being revamped to be able to carry the newest J-Series bombs, which will facilitate the storage of several new Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) and other weapons systems.

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