210615-F-PZ401-0167

A Royal Moroccan Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft refuels with a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft over Morocco during Exercise African Lion 2021, June 15, 2021. Conducting air refueling training with our partners is critical because the capability provides a “bridge” that allows the expeditionary Air Force to deploy around the globe at a moment’s notice. African Lion is U.S. Africa Command's largest, premier, joint, annual exercise hosted by Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal, 7-18 June. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. African Lion is a multi-domain, multi-component, and multi-national exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph Barron)