US Air Force to boost presence in Europe amid Russia tensions

The U.S. Air Force plans to further increase the number of forces it brings to Europe amid tensions with Russia and could deploy stealthy F-22 fighter jets as a show of force, Wall Street Journal reported quoting Service Secretary Deborah Lee James as saying on Monday.

“The biggest threat on my mind is what is happening in Russia. That is a big part of why I am here,” James said at the Paris Air Show.

Russia has increased its level of air force flights along the borders of European countries amid heightened tensions with the West after the country’s annexation of Crimea.

The Swedish air force has had to increase flights by 50% in the past two years to contend with the repeated flights of Russian military aircraft along the country’s borders, service chief Maj. Gen. Micael Bydén said. Actual incursions in Swedish airspace are rare, he said, although some of Russia’s military planes have come dangerously close to commercial airliners.

Russia has denied its military operations are threatening.

“This is a serious business we are facing in Russia,” James said. She will visit with other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies after visiting the Paris event to consult with them and urge countries to boost military spending, the service secretary told reporters. Countries that may cut military spending, such as the U.K., are a concern, she added.

The U.S. Air Force has already stepped up air patrols in the Baltic and brought B-2 stealth bombers and B-52 bombers to the U.K. in an effort to show it is strengthen its military posture in Europe.

“The plan at this time is to do increased level or rotations,” she said, with the F-22 combat jet possibly among the assets that may come to Europe.