Manila— Four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs and two HH-60G Pave Hawks,
which comprise part of the U.S. Pacific Command’s Air Contingent deployed to
the Philippine Air Force’s Clark Air Base, conducted their first flight out of
Clark on April 19, 2016.
The deployment of the
aircraft, which have remained behind in the Philippines after participating in
Balikatan 2016, will include conducting operations such as air and maritime
domain awareness, personnel recovery, combating piracy, and helping to assure
that all nations have access to air and sea domains throughout the region in
accordance with international law. All operations and deployments are planned
and executed with the consent and cooperation of the Philippine government.
The April 19 maritime
situational awareness operation took the A-10s and HH-60s through international
airspace to the west of Luzon. Missions such as this one promote transparency
and safety of movement in international waters and airspace, and showcase the
U.S. commitment to ally and partner nations as well as to the Indo-Asia-Pacific
region’s continued stability.
Interoperability with the
Philippine military is at the forefront of our mission,” said Col. Larry Card,
Commander of the Air Contingent. “The standup of the Air Contingent promotes
this collective focus as we build upon our already strong alliance, and
reaffirm our commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.”
All personnel in this
deployment are Air Force Airmen assigned to various Pacific Air Forces bases,
and include aircrew, maintainers, logistics and support personnel. (US
Embassy news)
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