Red Flag 07-2 was the first exercise to be held this year at Nellis AFB, NV. Nicknamed "Colonial Flag", this was the second of its kind and saw the participation of more than 200 aircraft and about 5,200 military personnel from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. According to a spokeperson from the Air Warfare Center, this exercise was dubbed "Colonial Flag" because both the United States and Australia were once colonies of the United Kingdom.
Red Flag has been a major player in training U.S forces and American allies since 1975 after the former Tactical Air Command commander, Gen. Robert Dixon, was provided evidence suggesting a pilot who successfully made it through his first ten combat missions had a much higher chance of survival in all subsequent sorties. The general proposed the idea of new pilots attending Red Flag to complete ten rookie missions in a realistic but controlled environment, giving them a greater chance for success and survival in a real-time war environment . Much of the flying takes place over the Nevada Test and Training Range which is the best location for such exercise because of its size and remote position. Its sheer vastness has the size to accomodate many aircraft at one time, allowing for a realistic training experience for the more than 200 aircraft scheduled.
Red Flag 07-2 consisted of two periods of 2 weeks each separated by a one-week break to provide time for various pilot and aircraft rotating in and out of Nellis AFB to prepare for the exercise. During my visit in Period One, the following units were participating in Red Flag; 48th FW, 35th FW, 522th FS, 18th FW, 509th BW, 7th BW. RAAF F-111s, USAF F-117s and 1th FW F-22A were scheduled for the second period. Pilots from the 94th Fighter Squadron flew their F-22 Raptor against Red Flag Agressors F-16s and F-15s. This was the F-22's first participation in Red Flag and quite a success for all parties invoved. The role of the F-22 was primarily air-to-air fighter escort for the air-to-ground strike aircraft such as B-2s, B-1s, F-15E, F-117s and RAF GR-4 Tornados.
In Red Flag, the Blue Forces represent friendly forces while Red Forces simulate the ennemy. In addition to aerial combat, Blue Forces also train in various tactics to engage ground targets such as mock airfield, convoys and other ground defensive positions. Playing the role of agressors in Red Forces was a task for the 64th and 65th Agressor Squadron. The 64th flies the F-16 while the 65th was recently reformed to fly the F-15 in the agressor's role at Nellis AFB. Agressor pilots are specially trained to replicate tactics and techniques of potential adversaries. In addition to aerial threats, there is no shortage of ground ones such as electronically simulated surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery and communications jamming.
Red Flag exercises provide a unique training opportunity for USAF pilots and U.S. allies. Because the United States usually don't engage in combat without coalition forces, training with the RAAF and RAF at Red Flag provided valuable experience to all involved.
(Click on the thumbnails to view larger photos.)
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