Above photo courtesy of U.S. Ambassador Dan Shapiro's Facebook page​ 

The U.S. European Command and the Israel Defense Forces are in the midst of the Juniper Stallion 13, a bilateral aerial exercise held between the U.S. and Israeli air forces. The exercise will last approximately two weeks, and is part of the regularly scheduled training between the two nations.

Juniper Stallion 13 is a combined, bilateral F-15/F-16 air-to-air exercise designed to improve the interoperability and cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli air forces. JS13 is an annual training event which has been in planning for more than a year.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro described the exercises as “another chapter in the unprecedented security partnership between the United States and Israel” and that they are “designed to improve the interoperability and cooperation between our two air forces”.

On his visit to Israel last week to meet with senior Israeli security officials Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter “reaffirmed that the U.S.-Israel defense relationship has never been stronger and agreed to continue to consult closely on shared security interests.”