A-10s from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, will head home in August after a months-long tour across Europe to reassure allies after the incursion of Russian-backed separatists into Ukraine.
The A-10s, assigned to the 355th Fighter Wing at Davis-Monthan, will wrap up their tour with a four-day stay at Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, where they will train with F-15Cs, and practice combat search and rescue.
The A-10s, currently in Poland, have also deployed to Europe in February, and trained in Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria and Estonia. The aircraft were the first "theater security package" to NATO allies in Eastern Europe. The deployment includes about 300 airmen and support equipment for the aircraft.
On July 6, F-15s from the 142nd Fighter Wing of the Oregon Air National Guard from Portland began training with the Romanian air force as part of another theater security package rotation. About 200 airmen came together to form the 123rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron for the package.
"Our mission in Romania is to support Operation Atlantic Resolve," Lt. Col. Sean Sullivan, 123rd EFS commander, said in a release. "It is to show the United States' dedication to security, stability and peace in Europe and to work on interoperability with our NATO allies."
The unit took over for the 159th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron of the Florida Air National Guard, deployed from Jacksonville.
"The U.S. Air Force's forward presence in Europe, augmented by a rotational force like the TSP, allows us to work with our allies to develop and improve ready air forces capable of maintaining regional security," Gen. Frank Gorenc, U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander, said in a release.
The aircraft join other C-130 and F-16 detachments in Romania that have rotated through Powidz Air Base in Poland for training.
