The US Air Force has deployed several F-16 fighter jets at the minimum possible distance from the borders of Russia - on the small island of Shemya in the Pacific Ocean.
The nine-square-kilometer island belongs to Alaska, but geographically it is located in the middle between North America and Eurasia - and only 350 kilometers from the Russian coast. However, the conditions for flights there are harsh. "Weather, isolation and a short runway - all this makes Shemya a dangerous place for air operations," the Alaska Department of Natural Resources told Forbes.
The deployment of fighters in one of the most remote points of the American territory took place as part of the "maneuverable combat use" of the US Air Force. In the event of an armed conflict, the Pentagon plans to disperse forces from Alaska's main Richardson base near Anchorage along dozens of small runways in the hope that at least some of them will avoid a missile strike.
The current deployment to Shemya was successful: the weather was clear, the fighters flew to the island, refueled and flew back. Previously, flights here were not so smooth: from 1969 to 1983, three RC-135 spy planes and a military transport C-5 crashed here, 25 pilots were killed.
By the way, recently, the "green berets" landed on Shemya - they worked out the protection of the island from enemy special forces. The tiny island is called the No. 1 target in the Third World War - in addition to the strategically important airfield, there is a radar of the US missile defense system on it.
Anton Valagin
