US moves refueling base for NATO aircraft from Germany to Poland

The Stripes, which specializes in military topics, writes about this. 

US Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard refueling aircraft recently took off from Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany as part of Operation Copper Arrow, which aims to strengthen aerial refueling capabilities on the continent.

In the coming months, 19 such aircraft, based in the United States, will arrive in the central-western Polish city of Powidz, where several operations are planned in support of NATO activities.

The aircraft at Powidz could be used to refuel warplanes, including the world's most advanced F-35A Lightning II fighter, potentially expanding NATO's mission range. Recently, the Dutch Air Force transferred eight such aircraft to the Malbork Air Base in Poland.

Refueling aircraft began flying from Powidz in early March, and on April 13, a Pegasus aircraft from the US Air Force's 931st Airlift Wing refueled Finnish Air Force F/A-18s.

• As the Washington Post writes, the war in Ukraine caused a kind of geopolitical shift in Europe, shifting "NATO's center of gravity" to Central and Eastern Europe: Poland and the Baltic countries