The first of four Red Flag exercises scheduled at Nellis AFB this year took place between January 25 and February 12. As in recent years, this exercise included U.S. units and participants from the United Kingdom (RAF) and Australia (RAAF). For the first time, the RAAF brought F/A-18F Super Hornets along with its F/A-18A Hornets. They also brought the E-7A Wedgetail and AP-3C Orion. The RAF was represented by Typhoons, with Sentinel, E-3 Sentry and C-130J Hercules joining in. Two flights per day were flown, one in the afternoon and one at night, with similar mission profiles, except that most of the electronic warfare aircraft were reserved for the night flights. The Red Forces, composed primarily of the locally-based 64th Aggressor Squadron F-16s, were augmented by different Blue Force units during the course of the three-week exercise. For additional background information on Red Flag, see here and our coverage of previous exercises (RF 14-1, RF 14-2, RF 14-3, RF 15-1, RF 15-4).

would like to thank the staff of the 99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs Office for all of their support during our visit.

 53rd Wing, 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron, F-16Cs, Nellis AFB, NV
 1 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, F/A-18F, RAAF Amberley, Australia
 2 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, E-7A, RAAF Base Williamtown, Australia
 10 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, AP-3C, RAAF Base Edinburgh, Australia
 75 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, F/A-18A, RAAF Base Tindal, Australia
 3 Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force, Typhoon, RAF Coningsby, U.K.
 5 Squadron, Royal Air Force, Sentinel, RAF Waddington, U.K.
 8 Squadron, Royal Air Force, E-3D, RAF Waddington, U.K.
 47 Squadron, Royal Air Force, C-130J, RAF Brize Norton, U.K.
 461st Air Control Wing, 12th Airborne Command and Control Squadron, E-8, Robins AFB, GA
 9th Reconnaissance Wing, 12th Reconnaissance Squadron, RQ-4, Beale AFB, CA
 509th Bomb Wing, 13th Bomb Squadron, B-2, Whiteman AFB, MO
 104th Fighter Wing, 131st Fighter Squadron, F-15C, Barnes ANGB, MA
 169th Fighter Wing, 157th Fighter Squadron, F-16CJ, McEntire JNGB, SC
 144th Fighter Wing, 194th Fighter Squadron, F-15C, Fresno ANGB, CA
 4th Fighter Wing, 335th Fighter Squadron, F-15E, Seymour Johnson AFB, NC
 55th Wing, 343rd Reconnaissance Squadron, RC-135, Offutt AFB, NE
 9th Reconnaissance Wing, 348th Reconnaissance Squadron, RQ-4B, Grand Forks AFB, ND
 55th Wing, 41st Electronic Combat Squadron, EC-130H, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
 31st Fighter Wing, 510th Fighter Squadron, F-16CM Block 40, Aviano Air Base, Italy
 7th Bomb Wing, 9th Bomb Squadron, B-1, Dyess AFB, TX
 325th Fighter Wing, 95th Fighter Squadron, F-22, Tyndall AFB, FL
 552nd Air Control Wing, 965th Airborne Air Control Squadron, E-3, Tinker AFB, OK
 9th Reconnaissance Wing, 99th Reconnaissance Squadron, U-2, Beale AFB, CA
 Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing TEN, EP3/P3, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, WA
 Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing TEN, Patrol Squadron FORTY, P3 LSRS, NAS Whidbey Island, WA
Patrol Squadron 45, P8, NAS Jacksonville, FL
Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing TEN, Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron One, EP3, NAS Whidbey Island, WA
 22nd Air Refueling Wing, KC-135, McConnell AFB, KS
 Electronic Attack Squadron 138, EA-18G, NAS Whidbey Island, WA
 23rd Wing, 79th Rescue Squadron, HC-130J, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
 176th Wing, 210th Rescue Squadron, HH-60G, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, AK
 57th Wing, 64th Aggressor Squadron, F-16C, Nellis AFB, NV