The US Air Force will be conducting air space surveillance in Iceland this November.
The Icelandic Coast Guard reports that about 200 American soldiers will be in Iceland for the exercises, which are conducted as a part of Iceland’s membership in NATO. An undisclosed number of F-15 fighter jets, as well as C-130 planes – for search and rescue and air re-fueling – will also be coming along.
While the Coast Guard does not disclose the precise location where US forces will be stationed, they say that air exercises will likely be based in Akureyri, and possibly in Egilsstaðir, from November 6 – 9.
Having no military of its own, Iceland allows other NATO countries to maintain basic air surveillance. This follows a rotation through militarised NATO countries, with surveillance exercises lasting about a month at a time in most cases.
US military personnel from the Air Force and the Navy were once stationed at a base in Keflavík. The end of the Cold War and a re-distribution of the armed forces led to the base’s closing in 2006.
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