The US has deployed fighter jets to Iceland for the first time in two years - the F-16 Fighting Falcon will serve as an air policing force

Fourth-generation F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft have moved to Iceland. The US Air Force has deployed the fighter jets to the country for the first time in two years.

Here's What We Know

Four F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft have left Germany and arrived in Iceland. On 22 October 2023, the fourth-generation US fighter jets deployed to Iceland's Keflavik military base.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon landed in Iceland about a month after the B-2 Spirit nuclear bombers left the country. The visit to Iceland concluded a three-month deployment for the strategic aircraft.

The fighter jets will fulfil the role of air policing as part of NATO's mission in the High North. The deployment of the F-16 Fighting Falcon to Iceland will last until 12 November 2023.

For 15 years, the US has been trying to move fighter jets to Iceland on a regular basis. Given its geographical location, the country's authorities have agreed that the appropriate mechanism to ensure airspace security is to maintain a periodic presence of NATO fighter aircraft at Keblavik Air Base.

Source: NATO