Desert Falcon 2022
The Heyl Ha'Avir (IAF, Israeli Air Force) and the United States Air Force (USAF) concluded the Desert Falcon 2022 (DF22) exercise in the second week of January 2022.
The exercise is a continuation of a series of periodic exercises aimed at the rapid integration between the IAF and the USAF to carry out joint future combat missions.
Desert Falcon 2022 had a strong focus on offensive counter-air (OCA) missions, especially in attacking highly protected targets, which has become the main strategy of the IAF since 2021. This new strategy was introduced as the main scenario of the latest Blue Flag exercise held from 17 to 28 October 2021 at Ovda air base in southern Israel.
In 2021, Israel officially moved into the US Central Command's (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) area of responsibility. In the period before, the IAF had worked predominantly with US European Command (USEUCOM), as Washington feared that Arab countries in the region would oppose cooperating with CENTCOM if Israel did too.
CENTCOM is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the US Department of Defence. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF). Its Area of Responsibility (AOR) includes the Middle East, including Egypt in Africa, and Central Asia and parts of South Asia.
This year's DF exercise was held at Ovda air base by the IAF and CENTCOM under the supervision of training and exercises department of the IAF in the airspace over the Negev Desert.
The scenario of the exercise included two teams, Blue and Red. The missions were set up around simulating airstrikes and dog fights in an act of deterrence to the Iranian threat.
DF22 participants:
Photos by IAF and USAF