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US aircraft makes historic flight over Finland

An RC-135 Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft assigned to the 55th Wing, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, takes-off for a Weapons School Integration (WSINT) mission at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, Nov. 21, 2022. The RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft supports theater and national level consumers with near real time on-scene intelligence collection, analysis and dissemination capabilities. (U.S. Air Force photo by William R. Lewis)

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Photo by: William Lewis 

For the first time, a U.S. Air Force RC-135, a manned intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, flew a mission over Finland on March 23, as a demonstration of U.S. European Command’s shared commitment to enhancing readiness and providing training opportunities to improve interoperability with Finland.

Flying at the invitation of the Finnish Defense Forces, the aim of the flight was to further defense cooperation between Finland, the U.S. and NATO. These types of sorties support agile combat employment concepts and enable participation in regional exercises that ensure interoperability of NATO Allies and partners in the region.

The operational readiness of U.S. forces across all domains is critical to building partnerships, responding to crisis, providing deterrence and supporting Allies and partners. Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance is one of the U.S. Air Force's core missions. Along with Finland and NATO Allies, the ISR mission is integral to global vigilance and enables the operational agility needed in a dynamic security environment.

About USEUCOM

U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) is responsible for U.S. military operations across Europe, portions of Asia and the Middle East, the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean. USEUCOM is comprised of more than 64,000 military and civilian personnel and works closely with NATO Allies and partners. The command is one of two U.S. forward-deployed geographic combatant commands headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. For more information about USEUCOM, visit www.eucom.mil.