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Israeli and Polish Air Forces to conduct joint manoeuvres

PR dla Zagranicy
John Beauchamp 22.02.2012 10:30
The Polish Air Force is scheduled to conduct joint manoeuvres with the Israeli Air Force in the Negev desert in Israel during the upcoming month of March, reports the Israeli newspaper “Yisrael Hayom” (Israel Today).
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While the joint manoeuvres have been scheduled some time in advance, the Polish government has yet to issue official confirmation for them.

The Polish pilots will engage in simulated combat against the “Red Squadron”, the squadron in the Israeli Air Force which usually assumes the role of enemy fighter jets.

The Polish Army has been working alongside the American Armed Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and Poland, like Israel, is regarded as a close ally of the United States.

The joint manoeuvres mark a high-point in the normally excellent work-relations between the Polish and Israeli governments. This is the first time the Polish Air Force has been invited to Israel for the purpose of joint exercises.

Israeli show of ‘self-defence’

In 2003 the Polish Air Force invited official representatives of the Israeli Air Force to mark 85 years of the creation of the Polish Air Force.

The visit also included an agreed collaboration between the Polish and Israeli Air Forces during which two Polish jets would accompany Israeli jets in a flight above Auschwitz during an official remembrance ceremony with an official delegation of the Israeli Armed Forces present on the site.

Israeli flight commander Amir Eshel reportedly told his teammates “for 800 years we listened to the Poles, today we don’t need to pay them any heed. Let’s do the right thing just this once,” following on to instruct them to follow a different course then the one agreed upon previously with the Polish Air Force.

The new instructions were to fly below the clouds so that they could be seen by those standing on the ground. The photographs of the Israeli fighter jets above Auschwitz became a powerful symbol of Israeli strength and commitment to self-defence.

However, no other such collaborations took place since. General Eshel is expected to be the next commander of the Israeli Air Force. (hh/jb)

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