Red Flag – Alaska: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox recurring event
|name = <!--Uses page name if omitted-->
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|logo =
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|image = Redflagalaska.jpg
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|status = Active
|genre = Military exercise
|date = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|mm|dd}} "dates=" also works, but do not use both -->
|begins = <!-- {{start date|YYYY|mm|dd}} -->
|ends = <!-- {{end date|YYYY|mm|dd}} -->
|frequency = Tri-annually/Quad-annually
|venue =
|location = Alaska
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|country = United States
|years_active = {{age|2006|01|01}}
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|last = <!-- Date of most recent event; if the event will not be held again, use {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
|prev = RED FLAG-Alaska 19-3 (1 August – 16 August 2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1923535/red-flag-alaska-19-3-kicks-off-aug-1/website=Red Flag-Alaska 19-3 Kicks Off Aug. 1|access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref>
|next = RED FLAG-Alaska 20-1 (30 April – 15 May 2019)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.eielson.af.mil/Info/RED-FLAG-Alaska/|title=RED FLAG-Alaska|website=Royal Navy|access-date=24 January 2020}}</ref>
|participants = [[United States Air Force]] & allied air forces
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|organised = [[353d Combat Training Squadron]]
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{{more footnotes|date=November 2011}}
{{more footnotes|date=November 2011}}
[[Image:Redflagalaska.jpg|240px|right|Red Flag - Alaska]]
'''RED FLAG-Alaska''' is a realistic, 10-day air combat [[United States Air Force]] [[military exercise|training exercise]] held up to four times a year. It is held at [[Eielson Air Force Base]] and [[Elmendorf Air Force Base]] in the [[State of Alaska]]. Each ''RED FLAG-Alaska'' exercise is a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises often involve several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. ''RED FLAG-Alaska'' planners take those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants get the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/146441/battle-between-red-and-blue-crews-exercise-last-frontier|accessdate=23 January 2020|title=The battle between Red and Blue: Crews exercise from the Last Frontier}}</ref>
'''RED FLAG-Alaska''' is a realistic, 10-day air combat [[United States Air Force]] [[military exercise|training exercise]] held up to four times a year. It is held at [[Eielson Air Force Base]] and [[Elmendorf Air Force Base]] in the [[State of Alaska]]. Each ''RED FLAG-Alaska'' exercise is a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises often involve several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. ''RED FLAG-Alaska'' planners take those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants get the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dvidshub.net/news/146441/battle-between-red-and-blue-crews-exercise-last-frontier|accessdate=23 January 2020|title=The battle between Red and Blue: Crews exercise from the Last Frontier}}</ref>


Revision as of 13:16, 24 January 2020

Red Flag – Alaska
StatusActive
GenreMilitary exercise
FrequencyTri-annually/Quad-annually
Location(s)Alaska
CountryUnited States
Years active18
Established2006 (2006)
Previous eventRED FLAG-Alaska 19-3 (1 August – 16 August 2018)[1]
Next eventRED FLAG-Alaska 20-1 (30 April – 15 May 2019)[2]
ParticipantsUnited States Air Force & allied air forces
Organised by353d Combat Training Squadron
SponsorPacific Air Forces

RED FLAG-Alaska is a realistic, 10-day air combat United States Air Force training exercise held up to four times a year. It is held at Eielson Air Force Base and Elmendorf Air Force Base in the State of Alaska. Each RED FLAG-Alaska exercise is a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises often involve several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. RED FLAG-Alaska planners take those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants get the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.[3]

History

Cope Thunder

Members of No. 75 Squadron RNZAF with one of the unit's A-4K Skyhawks in the Philippines during Cope Thunder in 1982

Exercise Cope Thunder was a Pacific Air Forces sponsored exercise initiated at Clark Air Base, The Philippines, in 1976.[4] Conceived by Brigadier General Richard G. Head, the exercise was devised as a way to give aircrews from across Asia their first taste of warfare in a realistic training environment. The exercise quickly grew into PACAF’s "premier simulated combat airpower employment exercise."[5]

Prior to Operation Desert Storm, less than one-fifth of the U.S. Air Force’s primary fighter pilots had seen combat. While the percentage of combat-experienced pilots has increased in recent years, with the end of the Vietnam War a high percentage of pilots had not experienced combat. Analysis indicates most combat losses occurred during an aircrew’s first eight to 10 missions. Therefore, the goal of COPE THUNDER, and later RED FLAG-Alaska, was to provide each aircrew with these first vital missions, increasing their chances of survival in combat environments.

Each COPE THUNDER exercise was a multi-service, multi-platform coordinated, combat operations exercise and corresponds to the designed operational capability of participating units. In other words, exercises involved several units whose military mission may differ significantly from that of other participating units. COPE THUNDER planners took those factors into consideration when designing exercises so participants received the maximum training possible without being placed at an unfair advantage during simulated combat scenarios.

It was not uncommon during COPE THUNDER exercises to see Philippine Air Force F-5s, Royal Australian Air Force F-18 Hornets, U.S. Navy A-4s, Royal New Zealand Air Force A-4s, Republic of Singapore Air Force Hawker Hunters, stacked up on taxiways awaiting their turn to launch along with USAF F-15 Eagles, and F-16 Fighting Falcons from bases in Pacific Air Forces, and Alaskan Air Command.

COPE THUNDER was moved to Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, from Clark Air Base, Philippines, in 1992 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on June 15, 1991 forced the closure of Clark Air Base.[6]

When the decision was made to relocate COPE THUNDER, Air Force officials viewed Eielson as the most logical choice. That decision was based on the close proximity of large areas of military training airspace and the fact that Eielson's 5055th Range Squadron, to become the 353d Combat Training Squadron in 1993, already maintained and operated three major military air-to-ground training ranges nearby.

COPE THUNDER was redesignated RED FLAG-Alaska in 2006.[7]

RED FLAG-Alaska

A 65th Aggressor Squadron F-15 at Eielson during Red Flag.

RED FLAG-Alaska is a Pacific Air Forces sponsored exercise. Since its inception, thousands of people from all four branches of the US military, as well as the armed services of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, have taken part in multinational RED FLAG-Alaska/COPE THUNDER exercises. Participating aircraft include A/OA-10, B-1B, B-2, B-52, C-130, C-160, E-2, E-3C, F-15C, F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, F-22, F-35, EA-6B, EA-18, KC-130, KC-135, KC-10, HC-130, various helicopters and Tornadoes, Nimrod, VC-10, Aero L-159 Alca, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, Eurofighter Typhoon, Mitsubishi F-2, and Jaguars as well as Stinger Teams from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces.[8]

Operations

JASDF soldiers hunt for mock enemy aircraft at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska as part of Red-Flag Alaska. They are armed with a Type 91 Kai MANPAD.
Soldiers perform a static line jump in the 2019 exercises

RED FLAG-Alaska participants are organized into "Red" defensive forces and "Blue" offensive forces. "White" forces represent the neutral controlling agency. The defensive force includes ground-control intercept and surface-to-air defensive forces to simulate threats posed by potentially hostile nations. These forces generally employ defensive counter-air tactics directed by ground-control intercept sites. Range threat emitters - electronic devices which send out signals simulating anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) and surface-to-air missile (SAM) launches - provide valuable surface-to-air training and are operated by a civilian contractor as directed by 353d Combat Training Squadron staff personnel.[9] The offensive force includes the full spectrum of U.S. and allied tactical and support units. Because the defensive and offensive forces meet in a simulated hostile, non-cooperative training environment, the job of controlling the mock war and ensuring safety falls to the "White" neutral force.[10]

On an average, more than 700 people and up to 60 aircraft deploy to Eielson, and an additional 500 people and 40 aircraft deploy to Elmendorf Air Force Base, for each RED FLAG-Alaska exercise.[11] Most participating RED FLAG-Alaska units arrive a week prior to the actual exercise. During that time, aircrews may fly one or two range orientation flights, make physical and mental preparations, hone up on local flying procedures and restrictions, receive local safety and survival briefings, and work on developing orientation plans.[12]

During the two-week employment phase of the exercise, aircrews are subjected to a wide range of combat threats. Scenarios are shaped to meet each exercise's specific training objectives. All units are involved in the development of exercise training objectives. At the height of the exercise, up to 70 aircraft can be operating in the same airspace at one time. Typically, RED FLAG-Alaska conducts two combat missions each day.[13]

All RED FLAG-Alaska exercises take place in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex[14]airspace located in eastern Alaska. The entire airspace is made up of 18 permanent Military Operations Areas (MOA), 11 Air Traffic Control Assigned Airspace (ATCAA) high altitude training areas and three restricted areas (R2202, R2205, R2211), for a total airspace of more than 68,000 square miles (180,000 km2), roughly the size of the state of Oklahoma.[15] Occasionally, adjoining airspace in western Canada is utilized.[16]

Aircrew aren't the only ones who benefit from the RED FLAG-Alaska experience. Exercises provide an operations training environment for participants such as unit-level intelligence experts, maintenance crews, command and control elements as well as staff and planning personnel.

By providing generic scenarios using common worldwide threats and simulated combat conditions, RED FLAG-Alaska gives everyone an opportunity to make the tough calls combat often requires.[17]

See also

References

  1. ^ Flag-Alaska 19-3 Kicks Off Aug. 1 https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/1923535/red-flag-alaska-19-3-kicks-off-aug-1/website=Red Flag-Alaska 19-3 Kicks Off Aug. 1. Retrieved 24 January 2020. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ "RED FLAG-Alaska". Royal Navy. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  3. ^ "The battle between Red and Blue: Crews exercise from the Last Frontier". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  4. ^ "At Cope Thunder, 'realistic' training for Air Force pilots". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  5. ^ http://www.globalsecurity.org
  6. ^ "Red Flag-Alaska". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  7. ^ "Red Flag - Alaska". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  8. ^ "JASDF Stingers". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  9. ^ "RED FLAG-Alaska 19-2 takes off". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Red Flag-Alaska 15-3 officially begins at Eielson". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  11. ^ "RED FLAG - Alaska 16-1 has arrived". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Buccaneers arrive at Red Flag-Alaska". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  13. ^ "F-15SG Participates in Red Flag Alaska Exercise". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. ^ "Red Flag-Alaska 19-3 kicks off Aug. 1". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Exercise Red Flag Alaska 17-2". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  16. ^ "RED FLAG-Alaska 18-3 commences". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  17. ^ "RED FLAG - Alaska 16-1 has arrived". Retrieved 23 January 2020.

Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Red Flag - Alaska Fact Sheet

External links

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