U.S., Australia wrap Red Flag exercise in Alaska

The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday that it has concluded a multinational drill with the Royal Australian Air Force in Alaska.

Red Flag-Alaska 21-3, held over the course of the last week, is a routine drill occurring three or four times annually that is intended to strengthen interoperability in the Indo-Pacific region through combat simulations.

Last year's drill included the use of U.S. F-35 fighter aircraft for the first time.

Officials said at the time that they planned eventually for F-35s stationed in Australia, Japan and Korea to participate in the exercise regularly to standardize tactics, techniques and procedures.

This year's Red Flag drill was the first to include F-35 Lighting IIs from the Royal Australian Air Force, in addition to fifth-generation aircraft from the United States.

"We accomplished a variety of training from aerial refueling, dirt landing zones and cargo airdrops to air-to-air combat and air-to-surface combat against a large simulated enemy force," U.S. Air Force Maj. Gregory Weigel, 354th Operations Group Detachment 1 assistant director of operations, said in a press release.

The exercise is centered at the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska where it concluded Friday.

Approximately 1,800 service members from both nations' air forces flew, maintained and supported 80 aircraft from more than 20 units, Air Force officials said.

The exercise involved multiple military units from Kadena Air Base in Japan and military installations from across the U.S.

Related Links
Aerospace News at SpaceMart.com

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

DARPA selects teams to develop active flow control X-Plane
Washington DC (SPX) Aug 27, 2021
DARPA has selected multiple performers to continue the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) program. Aurora Flight Sciences and Lockheed Martin Corporation are now entering Phase 1, which includes system requirements development, initial design work, software development, and initial airworthiness activities that culminate in a preliminary design review. "The Phase 1 researchers have completed conceptual designs of novel flight demonstration configurations with quantifiab ... read more