Beginning on Wednesday, American airmen will partner with their British and French counterparts for the 2017 Atlantic Trident exercise at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, according to the Air Force.



The exercise will be hosted by the 1st Fighter Wing. Airmen from the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force will participate in exercises aimed at enhancing interoperability through combined coalition aerial campaigns. The exercise, featuring the new F-35 Lightning II, is one of the first to focus on integrating fifth-generation fighter capabilities, according to the Air Force.



In addition to the F-35, the exercise will feature the F-22 Raptor, as well as the Brits' Eurofighter Typhoon and the French Dassault Rafale. U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and T-38 Talons will take on the role of adversary aircraft for the exercise.



Additionally, U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry and KC-10 Extender aircraft will support the exercise.



"This exercise was designed to encourage the sharing and development of air combat [tactics, techniques and procedures] with our French and U.K. partners, against a range of potential threats leveraging U.S. Air Force fifth-generation capabilities," said Col. Peter Fesler, the 1st Fighter Wing commander. "This is not only an opportunity to share the capabilities of the aircraft, pilots and maintainers between our nations, but to build friendship, trust and confidence that will improve our interoperability as we go forward."



About 225 American airmen are expected to participate in the exercise, as well as 175 personnel from the British Royal Air Force and 150 from the French Air Force. The exercise kicks off Wednesday and ends April 28.



A similar exercise — this one without the F-35 — was held at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in December 2015.

