- 2.9 million acres of Nevada training area
- 12,000 square miles of airspace
- 3,000 personnel from 32 units
Every year, the Royal Air Force joins the United States and partner forces on Exercise Red Flag. It’s one of the world’s toughest air combat training environments, allowing participating nations to hone their war-fighting skills.
The Exercise was established in 1975 after the Vietnam War showed that the first ten combat missions flown are the most dangerous for aircrew. Red Flag recreates the first ten missions of a modern air campaign to provide pilots and crew with realistic combat scenarios. It covers more than 12,000 square miles of airspace and 2.9 million acres of land at Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) and elsewhere in the southwest of the United States.
This year, it will bring together approximately 32 units and 3,000 participants from across the USAF and Space Force, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, Air National Guard, alongside the RAF, and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Exercise Red Flag isn’t just about the pilots – it’s a comprehensive combat training package involving ground crews, maintenance personnel, intelligence specialists, and support staff. They ensure aircraft are mission-ready, provide crucial intelligence support, and manage logistics to enable a comprehensive training environment that simulates the full scope of modern military operations.
The Tactical Command and Control Team manages and controls all the aircraft and units working in the ground, maritime, cyber and space-based domains, to accomplish the mission. The scale and complexity of the Exercise builds experience and reinforces the close working relationships between the UK, the United States and Australia.
Red Flag continues to evolve to reflect the threats and challenges of modern operations. It is renowned for its use of ‘aggressor’ forces, including simulated enemy fighter aircraft, ground-based radars and simulated surface-to-air missiles – and even cyber and space-based elements that simulate threats to each mission.
With approximately 2,200 targets, realistic threat systems and an opposing enemy force that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the world, Nellis Air Force base and the NTTR enable combat air forces to train to fly and fight together.