70 Israeli and NATO fighters, including the F-35 squadron, practice S-400 anti-aircraft missile exercises during the Blue Flag 2019 exercise.

The Blue Flag 2019 exercise took place at Uvda Air Base, southern Israel on November 3-15 with the participation of 1,000 soldiers. The Israeli, American, German, Italian and Greek air forces have rehearsed a lot of content, such as dogfight, ground attack, and counter-defense air defense.

The Israeli Air Force deployed dozens of aircraft, including F-15I Ra'am heavy fighters, F-16I Sufa and F-35I Adir fighters, while the US and its allies have about 34 aircraft of all kinds. . A Patriot missile complex modified by Israel to simulate the Russian-made S-400 long-range air defense system.

The F-35I also plays "enemy" in several dogfight missions. "The enemy poses a significant challenge to the allied forces, their tactics change day by day and force us to take appropriate measures to cope. These are valuable lessons," Lt. Col. Panagiotis said. Katsikaris, commander of the Greek squadron participating in the exercise, said.

Israeli media called it the "most modern" exercise in the country so far, saying that the experience at Blue Flag 2019 will help Tel Aviv effectively deal with the threat of S-400 air defense missiles. Future.

Unlike other F-35 ordering countries, Israel is demanding that more domestic technology be integrated into this super fighter. Tel Aviv insists it is constantly in a state of military conflict, requiring the F-35 fleet to have many outstanding points in terms of technology and logistics. Israel is currently the only country outside the US to intervene and modify the systems on F-35 fighters with the approval of the manufacturer Lockheed Martin.