Canadian Jets Practicing ‘Warm Weather’ Warfare at Tropical US Base

Canadian fighter jets and their crews have escaped the frigid Arctic north for a month of training at a base in the US State of Florida that nearly touches the tropics, the Canada Air Force announced in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Twice a year, the release explained, the 410th Tactical Fighter Squadron, alongside the 4th Wing Cold Lake, Alberta and the Royal Canadian Air Force, deploy to locations in the southern United States to conduct warm-weather training exercises.

"This deployment is a vital piece to the overall readiness and force generation of the RCAF’s Fighter Force capability," the release quoted 1 Canadian Air Division Commander Major-General Dave Wheeler as saying.

The squadrons typically practice in the Canadian province of Alberta at a site known as Cold Lake, an appropriate name given the region’s proximity to areas best known for marauding polar bears.

In contrast, the US base in Key West, Florida, the southern-most point in the continental United States, is just 50 miles from the Tropic of Cancer.

The exercises began on February 28 and are scheduled to last until March 23, according to the release.