TALLINN (Press TV) – The U.S. Air Force is deploying F-35 jets to Estonia, putting the service’s newest fighter jets even closer to Russia’s doorstep.
F-35A stealth Joint Strike Fighters will fly from a base in the United Kingdom to Estonia, which has an almost 200-mile-long border with Russia, an official told CNN on condition of anonymity.
The advanced aircraft flew from Hill Air Force Base in Utah to Royal Air Force’s Lakenheath airfield earlier this month.
Officials noted at the time that the Air Force also planned several "out and back” flights to other NATO nations that would help familiarize pilots with the region.
The Estonian media reported that the jets were expected to arrive at the ؤmari Air Base and would remain in the Baltic country for "several weeks.”
While in Estonia, the F-35s will conduct training flights with aircraft from the U.S. and allied militaries.
The Air Force will also deploy F-35 jets to Romania, another NATO ally.
Both Estonia and Romania have been unnerved by Russia’s reunification with the strategic Black Sea peninsula of Crimea following a referendum in March 2014.
Fearful of a repeat of that scenario elsewhere, Western countries have moved to step up their military presence in Eastern Europe to deter what they call the Russian "aggression.”
The F-35’s deployment to Europe is happening under the pretext of the so-called European Reassurance Initiative, the Pentagon’s catchphrase for a series of military exercises with NATO allies meant to send a signal to Russia.
The deployment has also been viewed as a marketing tactic by the U.S. to show off the aircraft’s capabilities to its European allies.