An F-15, belonging to the Israeli air force, takes off during the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on Nov. 8, 2017. (AFP photo)
JERUSALEM, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel's military said on Thursday that it has concluded its largest international air exercise jointly conducted with seven other countries.
"More than 1,200 personnel and a variety of aircraft, including fighter jets, helicopters and transport planes, took part in the exercise over the course of 10 days," a military spokesperson said in a statement.
Dubbed "Blue Flag," the drill was held in the Ovda air force base in southern Israel's Negev Desert.
The air forces of Greece, Poland, Italy, the United States, and for the first time, France, India and Germany, participated in the exercise.
The exercise simulated intense combat scenarios in realistic settings with the Israel Air Force.
"Commanders of the various Air Forces, military commanders and ambassadors from all the participating countries met" during the drill, the spokesperson said.
An Ovda Base officer, identified only as Col. Itamar, said in the statement that the exercise was "a display of power, coordination, cooperation and precision, both Israeli and internationally."
The officer said he was "very proud" of the results of the exercise, adding that "now we are moving on to the review phase in order to keep on improving."
According to Amikam Norkin, the commander of the Israeli Air Force, the drill came amid the turmoil in the Middle East.
"The situation in the Middle East changes constantly, new players and organizations join and it is our job to understand how to be fully prepared for the threats. We continually learn how to handle new threats by developing new methods of combat," he said in the statement.
Norkin also urged cooperation between armies of allied countries.
"If we want to affect reality in the future, we must prepare together, create joint solutions, as well as international programs which will be highly effective," he said.
