RAF and US fighter jets team up in mass air exercise

More than 26 RAF fighter jets have taken part in a mass air exercise with the US Air Force.

Royal Air Force Typhoons and F-35Bs - the UK's most advanced aircraft - joined US F-15 fighters, B-1 Lancers and B-52 strategic bombers during the training in the North Sea region.

Aircraft from across the UK and US mainland participated in Exercise Point Blank, a quarterly joint exercise run by the US.

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It brought the Bomber Task Force season - which saw numerous exercises and activities across northern Europe - to a close, the RAF said.

RAF Air Vice-Marshal Ian Duguid said that Bomber Task Force deployments offer a "great opportunity" to further increase interoperability with the US.

He added: "These exercises allow us to give our pilots valuable training experience with near-peer capabilities, and strengthen our relationships across the NATO alliance.

"They demonstrate our continued combined commitment to the partnership and the defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area."

During the exercise, the RAF supplied air to air refuelling support using Voyager aircraft from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, and KC-135 aircraft from RAF Mildenhall, Suffolk.