RED FLAG is an advanced aerial combat training exercise hosted at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada and Eielson Air Force Base Alaska. Nellis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Clark County, Nevada. Nevada ( is a state located in the western region of the United States of America. Since 1975, air crew from the United States Air Force (USAF) and other U.S. military branches and allies take part in the exercises, each of which is six weeks in duration. The United States Armed Forces are the overall unified military forces of the United States
The Red Flag exercises, conducted in four-to-six cycles a year by the 414th Combat Training Squadron of the 57th Wing, are very realistic aerial war games. The 414th Combat Training Squadron (CTS is the US Air Force squadron based at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada charged with hosting Red Flag - NELLIS (RF-N The 57th Wing ( 57 WG) is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Nellis Air Force Base, Las Vegas, Nevada. A military exercise (also called war game in American English) is the employment of military resources in training for Military operations either exploring The purpose is to train pilots from the U. S. , NATO and other allied countries for real combat situations. The North Atlantic Treaty This includes the use of "enemy" hardware and live ammunition for bombing exercises within the Nevada Test and Training Range. The Nevada Test and Training Range ( NTTR) is a training facility of the United States Air Force located in the desert of southern Nevada in the United
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Organization of Red Flag
The mission of the 414th Combat Training Squadron (Red Flag) is to maximize the combat readiness and survivability of participants by providing a realistic training environment and a forum that encourages a free exchange of ideas. To accomplish this, combat units from the United States and its allied countries engage in realistic combat training scenarios carefully conducted within the Nellis Range Complex. The Nellis Range complex is located northwest of Las Vegas and covers an area of 60 nautical miles (111 km) by 100 nautical miles (190 km), approximately half the area of Switzerland. Las Vegas ( Spanish: "The Meadows" is the most populous City in the state of Nevada, the seat of Clark County, and an internationally Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation This space allows the exercises to be on a very large scale.
In a typical Red Flag exercise, Blue Forces (friendly) engage Red Forces (hostile) in realistic combat situations. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Washington ANG consists of several units 141st Air Refueling Wing 194th Regional Support Wing The Western Air Defense Sector WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Blue Forces are made up of units from Air Combat Command, Air Mobility Command, United States Air Forces Europe, Pacific Air Forces, the Air National Guard, U.S. Air Force Reserve, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, the Canadian Air Force as well as other allied air forces. Air Combat Command ( ACC) is a major command (MAJCOM of the United States Air Force. Air Mobility Command (AMC is a Major Command (MAJCOM of the U The United States Air Forces in Europe ( USAFE) is the United States Air Force component of U The Air National Guard ( ANG), often referred to as the Air Guard, is the air force militia organized by each of the several states and The Air Force Reserve Command ( AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM of the U The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Mission AIRCOM is responsible for all aircraft operations in the Canadian Forces enforcing the security of Canada's airspace and providing aircraft for supporting the missions of They are led by a Blue Forces commander, who coordinates the units in an "employment plan". Red Forces (adversary) are composed of the 57th Wing's 57th Adversary Tactics Group, flying F-16s (64th Aggressor Squadron) and F-15s (65th Aggressor Squadron) to provide realistic air threats through the emulation of opposition tactics. The 65th Aggressor Squadron is a US Air Force fighter squadron assigned to the 57th Wing and tasked with providing adversary training The Red Forces are also augmented by U. S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps units flying in concert with the 507th Air Defense Aggressor Squadron's electronic ground defenses and communications, and radar jamming equipment. The 527th (Active Duty) and 26th (Reserve) Space Aggressor Squadrons also provide GPS jamming. Additionally, the Red Force command and control organization simulates a realistic manual integrated air defense system.
A key element of Red Flag operations is the Red Flag Measurement and Debriefing System. RFMDS is a computer hardware and software network which provides real-time monitoring, post-mission reconstruction of maneuvers and tactics, participant pairings and integration of range targets and simulated threats. Blue Force commanders objectively assess mission effectiveness and validate lessons learned from data provided by the RFMDS.
A typical flag exercise year includes one Green Flag (a close air support exercise with the Army), one Canadian Maple Flag (operated by Canadian Forces Air Command) and four Red Flags. MAPLE FLAG is an advanced Aerial combat training exercise hosted at CFB Cold Lake, Alberta. Mission AIRCOM is responsible for all aircraft operations in the Canadian Forces enforcing the security of Canada's airspace and providing aircraft for supporting the missions of Each Red Flag exercise normally involves a variety of fighter interdiction, attack, air superiority, defense suppression, airlift, air refueling and reconnaissance missions. SEAD (pronounced see-add or seed or Suppression of Enemy Air Defences, also known as " Wild Weasels quot and "Iron Hand" operations in the USA are An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies primarily via Aircraft. Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling ( IFR) air-to-air refueling ( AAR) or tanking, is Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information In a 12-month period, more than 500 aircraft fly more than 20,000 sorties, while training more than 5,000 aircrews and 14,000 support and maintenance personnel. Sortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit be it of Aircraft, Ship or in older times of columns of troops from a fort
Before a "flag" begins, the Red Flag staff conducts a planning conference where unit representatives and planning staff members develop the size and scope of their participation. All aspects of the exercise, including billeting of personnel, transportation to Nellis, range coordination, munitions scheduling, and development of training scenarios, are designed to be as realistic as possible, fully exercising each participating unit's capabilities and objectives.
Origin of Red Flag
The origin of Red Flag was the unacceptable performance of U. S. Air Force pilots in air combat maneuvering (ACM) (air-to-air combat) during the Vietnam War in comparison to previous wars. A dogfight or dog fight is Aerial combat between Fighter aircraft. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia Air combat over North Vietnam between 1965 and 1973 led to an overall exchange ratio (ratio of enemy aircraft shot down to the number of own aircraft lost to enemy fighters) of 2. 2:1 (for a period of time in June and July 1972 during Operation Linebacker the ratio was less than 1:1). For the December 1972 military operation see Operation Linebacker II.
Among the several factors resulting in this disparity was a lack of realistic ACM training. USAF pilots were not versed in the core values and basics of ACM due to the belief that BVR (Beyond Visual Range) engagements and equipment made maneuvering combats obsolete, and nearly all pilots were unpracticed in maneuvering against dissimilar aircraft because of an Air Force emphasis on flying safety. A Beyond Visual Range Missile usually refers to an Air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges beyond 20 Nautical
An Air Force analysis (Project Red Baron II) showed that a pilot's chances of survival in combat dramatically increased after he had completed 10 combat missions. Red Flag was created in 1975 to offer US pilots the opportunity to fly 10 realistically-simulated combat missions in a safe training environment with measurable results. Many aircrews had also fallen victim to SAMs and Red Flag exercises provided pilots experience in this regime as well. A surface to air missile ( SAM) or ground-to-air missile ( GTAM) is a Missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy Aircraft
The concept of Colonel David Burney, Colonel Richard "Moody" Suter became the driving force in its implementation, persuading Tactical Air Command commander Lt. Tactical Air Command (TAC it an inactive United States Air Force organization Gen. Robert Dixon to adopt the program. On 1 Mar 1976 the 4440th Tactical Fighter Training Group (Red Flag) was chartered to conduct this mission. Red Flag is one of a series of colored "flags" providing realistic training under combat conditions, many of which are also conducted at Nellis. Black Flag is a portion of the Red Flag exercise for training ground maintenance crews under field combat conditions.
The Aggressor squadrons, the opponents who flew against the pilots undergoing training, were selected from the top fighter pilots in the Air Force. An aggressor squadron is a Squadron that is trained to act as an Opposing force in military wargames. These pilots were trained to fly according to the tactical doctrines of the Soviet Union and other enemies, to better simulate what NATO pilots would encounter in real combat. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Aggressors were originally equipped with readily available T-38 Talon aircraft to simulate the MiG-21. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout F-5 Tiger II fighters, painted in color schemes commonly found on Soviet aircraft, were added shortly thereafter and became the mainstay until the F-16 was introduced. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The 64th and 65th AGRS currently use F-16 and F-15 aircraft to emulate, respectively, the MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker, and continue to be painted in their camouflage schemes. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout
This approach differs from that employed during the Vietnam War by the United States Navy to improve fighter aircrew performance. Rather than a large, multi-squadron exercise, the Navy established the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (more widely known as TOPGUN) in 1969 to "train the trainers," with squadrons in the fleet selecting their best aircrew for training. TOPGUN is the popular name of the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI program TOPGUN is the popular name of the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor (SFTI program Graduates returned to the fleet to share lessons learned with their fellow pilots. Navy Adversary squadrons were also established at Fighter and Attack Master jet bases (NAS Miramar, NAS Oceana and NAS Lemoore as well as NAS Key West) for fleet squadrons to conduct dissimilar air combat training as part of unit level training. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar, formerly Naval Air Station (NAS Miramar is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Naval Air Station Oceana or NAS Oceana is a military airport located in Virginia Beach Virginia, and is a United States Navy Master Jet Base Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base located in Kings County, California. Naval Air Station Key West, is a Naval air station and military airport located four miles (6 km east of the Central business district of Key These squadrons initially flew the A-4 Skyhawk. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Navy later added the F-5E to its Adversary lineup as well as the F-21 Kfir and a specially built F-16N as well as the F/A-18A. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Air Wing level training analogous to Red Flag is conducted at NAS Fallon where NSAWC operates dissimilar adversary aircraft (F-16A and F/A-18A) and VFC-13 flies the F-5E. Naval Air Station Fallon or NAS Fallon is the United States Navy 's premier air-to-air and air-to-ground training facility
The United States Marine Corps (USMC) conducts Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) exercises at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma twice a year as part of the WTI course conducted by MAWTS-1 and uses locally based VMFT-401, the only USMC adversary squadron. Marine Corps Air Station Yuma or MCAS Yuma is a United States Marine Corps air station which is the home to the AV-8B Harrier IIs of the 3rd Marine Marine Fighter Training Squadron 401 (VMFT-401 is a United States Marine Corps reserve fighter squadron flying the F-5E Tiger II. Originally equipped with the F-21 Kfir, it now operates the F-5E.
Red Flag was also depicted in a 1970s TV movie "Red Flag: The Ultimate Game". Red Flag is also featured in a 2004 IMAX film Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " IMAX (short for Image MAXimum is a Film format created by Canada 's IMAX Corporation that has the capacity to display images of far greater size and Fighter Pilot Operation Red Flag is an IMAX Film about a man who wants to be like his grandfather a Fighter pilot
Countries that have taken part in Red Flag
United States
United Kingdom
Brazil (August 2008)
Denmark
Norway
India
South Korea
Israel
Italy
Egypt
Germany
Japan
Canada
Australia
New Zealand
Singapore
Sweden
Turkey
Saudi Arabia
Venezuela (1992 & 1996)
France (August 2008)
Spain
Netherlands
Russia (Expected participation)
Portugal (March 2000)
See also
- Red Flag - Alaska - Exercise based out of Eielson AFB, Alaska (Formerly Cope Thunder)
- MAPLE FLAG
- TOPGUN
- Opposing force
References
External links
- GlobalSecurity.org: Red Flag
- Dreamland Resort: Red Flag Schedule, Photos and Information
- IMDb: Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag (2004)
- IMDb: Red Flag: The Ultimate Game (1981)
- 8081rt: Red Flag and Nellis AFB videos
- skippyscage photography: 07-02 08-2.1 08-2.2
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