The Air Force is deploying a dozen additional A-10 Thunderbolt IIs to Europe this fall as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, the service announced Tuesday.
The 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia will send 12 of the planes and crews to Central and Eastern European NATO countries as part of a theater security package, the base said in a press release.
The Air Force said the A-10s “will conduct training alongside NATO allies and partners to strengthen interoperability and to demonstrate U.S. commitment to the security and stability of Europe.”
Officials did not give a date the planes will leave for Europe, but said more information would be available as the deployment nears.
The Air Force and other military services have increasingly deployed troops and equipment to Eastern Europe as a show of force against Russian action in Ukraine.
In March, another dozen A-10s, from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, deployed to Romania and the Czech Republic, while 12 F-15s headed to Bulgaria.
A-10 “Warthogs” were among the first planes picked for deployment because they were available for the six-month mission, officials told the Air Force Times.
U.S. military personnel have used the deployments as opportunities to train European allies and reassure them of America’s commitment to defending its partners, officials said.
“Countries that are bordered with Russia have a different feel for the threat than the countries that are farther away,” said Lt. Gen. Darryl Roberson, the commander of the 3rd Air Force and 17th Expeditionary Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, in an April interview with the Air Force Times.
“I would tell you that the folks who are more concerned are the ones who are looking for opportunities to exercise and train more,” he said.
Oriana Pawlyk contributed to this story.
