US and Philippine forces end drills that tested their endurance in brutal heat

FILE - U.S. troops are seen at Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte province, as U.S. and Philippine troops participate in a joint military exercise in the Philippines on May 6, 2024. U.S. and Filipino troops concluded a new combat exercise in the Philippines on June 10, 2024. FILE - A Philippine soldier fires a Javelin anti-tank weapon system during a live exercise as part of the annual U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises called "Balikatan" at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija province, April 13, 2023.

Hundreds of American and Philippine troops concluded Monday a new combat exercise in the northern Philippines that tested their endurance in more than a week of brutal heat and volatile weather, and braced them to respond to any threat in tropical jungles and on scattered islands, two U.S. and Philippine generals said.