Russian Air Force to take part in USAF training exercises (Red Flag 13-1)

Russian SU30 Aircraft will participate in Red Flag Ops next month at Nellis AFB, NV

by Ilya Kramnik (Voice of Russia)

Moscow - Despite a cooling off in relations between Russia and NATO countries, neither party has refused taking part in joint military programs. One such program is the regular aerial combat training exercise of the US Air Force and its allies, called "Red Flag". The next exercise is scheduled for October 2012.

US Military command came up with the idea of conducting Red Flag exercises during the Vietnam War, when the USAF and naval aviation primarily used heavy multi-functional bombers such as the F-4 Phantom-II and F-105 Thunderchief.

These bombers demonstrated their inability to engage in close combat with Vietnam's light MIG aircraft. The reason for such failings was the strong reliance placed on powerful radars and medium-range missiles on the new American fighters. However, in practice the engagements very often did not go the way the pre-war theoretical schemes designed them to and the ratio of losses did not benefit the American side.

The situation had to be corrected - especially since at the same time in the other part of Asia above the sands of Levant, pilots of the Israeli Air Force on French and American aircraft showed wonderful results in aerial combat missions against Arabs who had far more powerful aircraft compared to Vietnam and who had gone through the same Soviet school.

The US Air Force then ordered a study known as Project Red Baron II, which showed that a pilot's chances of survival in combat dramatically increased after he had completed 10 combat missions. As a result, Red Flag, since starting in 1976, had the goal of offering every pilot and weapon systems officer (WSO) the opportunity to fly 10 realistically simulated combat missions in a safe training environment to give them more experience in real combat situations.

Today the Red Flag exercise is an advanced aerial combat exercise conducted in several cycles during the year. Besides Red Flag and Red Flag-Alaska, which mainly focus on fighter aerial combat, there are other cycles as well. For instance, the Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) - a large scale exercise for the headquarters of the US Air Force and its allies.

There is also Jaded Thunder, which is a series of combat training exercises in the course of which pilots from the US Air Force, Naval, and Marine aviation learn to detect and identify ground targets, including those camouflaged as civilians or civilian objects in a congested urban area.

Finally, there is MAFEX - Mobility Air Forces Exercises. These involve training transport aviation, where pilots learn how to interact using various communications and target detection devices as well as in the situation of a radio-electronic war.

In spring of 2012 it became known that the Russian Air Force is to participate in the Red Flag training exercise in the fall of 2012 together with Americans. From 8 until 19 of October, Red Flag Air Combat Exercise 13-1 will be held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada (the exercises are numbered in accordance with the fiscal years, and exercise in the fall will be number one in the 2013 fiscal year).

Like India, who participated in the Red Flag several years earlier using its Russian-made SU-30 MKI, Russia will get a chance this year to test its aircraft in realistic combat maneuvers with USAF aircraft.

This chance is very important, since up until now the only Russian aircraft of the fourth generation which fought in a real combat situation against western aircraft has been the MIG -29, but the possibility of deploying it in the conditions of very specific wars of 1991 and 1999 was limited.

Under such circumstances, the chance to test modernized Russian aircraft such as the SU -27 SM, SU-30M2, MIG -29SM and other strike aircraft - despite simulations, they are still against real western aircraft and pilots - is too attractive to be miss out on.

There is a political question, however: "Who are we friends against?" The answer is very simple: against nobody. Russia and the United States have been successfully talking the same language in the military sphere for a long time. Here, more problems unite the two countries than separate them. At the same time, the existing contradictions can be solved over a short period of time. However, as one could tell, that does not prevent us from continuing to study each other.
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Air Guard members part of total force tanker team at Red Flag exercise

Air Force 1st Lt. John Fisher, a KC-135 Stratotanker pilot with the Alabama Air National Guard's 99th Air Refueling Squadron, communicates with aircraft arriving to refuel during Red Flag 12-3, March 9, 2012 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Red Flag is a realistic air-to-air combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brett Clashman)(Released)

By Air Force Capt. Teresa L. Sullivan, 99th Air Base Wing

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Aerial refuelers have been here sharpening their skills through joint, allied and total force integration during Red Flag 12-3.

"The teamwork of active duty, Air National Guard and Reserve units has been outstanding," said Air Force Master Sgt. Randy Bishop, 91st Air Refueling Squadron chief boom operator out of MacDill AFB, Fla. "Total Force Integration is what makes tanker success at Red Flag possible."

Tanker operators are pushing the limits while working more closely with Guard and Reserve units by inter-flying six KC-135 aircraft and crews as a team. They're responsible for refueling 48 aircraft, which consume 260,000 pounds of fuel per day during eight sorties over the Air Force's premier Nevada Test and Training Range.

During the exercise tanker operators strive to better accommodate and coordinate with a variety of receivers, to include Air Force and Marine aircraft from across the U.S., while working with Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force aircraft and crews.

Exercises like Red Flag are designed to train the force for current and future conflicts.

"Red Flag helps me think on my feet and be prepared for the unexpected, in a rapidly changing environment," said Air Force Capt. Duc Ho, 91st ARS flight commander, who has deployed nine times to Iraq, Kyrgyzstan and other areas of Southwest Asia. "We're learning the receiver's mission and the complex, fluid environment that we're going to be operating in for future wars."

The tanker team credits their maintainers for keeping the aging tanker fleet operational during Red Flag.

"Maintenance does a great job keeping these 50-year-old jets in the air," Ho said, who is participating in his second Red Flag. "We couldn't launch without our incredible maintainers."

The tanker team is honing their skills in the air and on the ground, while being mindful of their environmental impact and fuel savings.

"Our primary goal is to support our receivers, but we fly high to save gas," Ho said. "We use a lot of ground power stations, minimize taxi time and when we're not needed we minimize our air time in an effort to save fuel. We take fuel saving very seriously, but of course we balance that with the needs of the receiver."

The 414th Combat Training Squadron is responsible for executing Red Flag and this exercise is just one of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis and on the Nevada Test and Training Range by organizations assigned to the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center.

Red Flag 11-2 provides combat experience

An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 64th Aggressor Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., takes off from the flightline during the first day of Red Flag 11-2 Jan. 24, 2011, at Nellis AFB. Red Flag is a combined exercise that provides a realistic, combat-training environment to the U.S. and its allies. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wilson)

by Staff Sgt. Benjamin Wilson, Red Flag 11-2 Public Affairs

NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -- The first pilots flew into a simulated combat environment designed to give them the skills needed to survive in war during Red Flag 11-2 here Jan. 24.

"The mission of every Red Flag is to expose our combat aircrew to realistic training," said Col. S. Clinton Hinote, the Red Flag 11-2 Air Expeditionary Wing commander. "The idea is that if you give them very realistic combat-like training early in their careers, then they will make the mistakes that most people are going to make in the training environment."

Making mistakes in a training environment helps the aircrew learn valuable lessons for real combat.

A study conducted during the Vietnam War showed that if a pilot survived his first 10 combat missions, his chances of survival through the conflict went up exponentially, Colonel Hinote said.

Helping the aircrew gain combat experience is a professional aggressor force stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Units assigned to the 57th Adversary Tactics Group act as the "bad guys" during Red Flag exercises, trying to stop the deployed forces from accomplishing their mission.

"Today, we are going to try to bomb some airfields and they are trying to stop us," Colonel Hinote said. "Some of our folks are going to get shot down and we're going to shoot down some of their folks, and we are going to come back and learn from the experience and get better at it."

Though the combat missions are the main reason for Red Flag exercises the event has more than one goal.

"Some of the main goals of Red Flag 11-2 are large force integration, strengthening coalition partnerships and bettering coalition interoperability," said Lt. Col. Dewey Smith, the Red Flag 11-2 team chief.

None of the goals of the exercise can be met, however, if units from across the continental U.S., Europe and the Southwest Asia cannot pull together as a team.

"The biggest challenge we will have is creating a coherent fighting team in the space of just a few days" Colonel Hinote said. "Otherwise the enemy aircraft and the enemy surface to air missiles are going to hand us our lunch."

Once the team is fighting together, they have full intentions to take advantage of the opportunity Red Flag provides.

"Red Flag is a gift that has been given to us," Colonel Hinote said. "It is important to be thankful for that because other folks don't get it and we have to take full advantage of this."

(Editor's note: Aircraft and members of the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, are deployed to Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., in support of Red Flag 11-2.)

Lajes Field Airmen support Pakistan air force on deployment to exercise

by Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi, 65th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

LAJES FIELD, Azores (AFNS) -- On their way to the U.S. to sharpen their close-air-support skills, six F-16 fighter jets from Pakistan and their crew members stopped at here July 14 through 15 before heading to a Red Flag exercise at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

About 100 Pakistan air force pilots, maintainers and support personnel, accompanied by a U.S. tanker, are attending Red Flag, a premier, large force employment and integration exercise.

Airmen of the 65th Operations Support Squadron here were on standby and ready to foster bilateral relations with the international delegates.

"This visit to Lajes is historic to us and the Pakistan crew, because we are hosting them here for the first time," said Tech. Sgt. Jose Ramon, a coronet liaison technician with the 65th OSS. "It is also very crucial in the career of the Pakistan (airmen) since it is their first deployment to the exercise. By welcoming and giving them world-class support, we are ensuring that their short stay here is a wonderful and lasting experience."

Airmen here ensured the crew's billeting, locker and food arrangements were made. They quickly dispersed the necessary aerospace ground equipment support the jets needed, such as jet fuel and lavatory services, among others.

"We did everything we could to make their stay here a memorable one," Sergeant Ramon said.

Sergeant Ramon said that since Lajes Field is the stopping point for smaller aircraft trying to make it across the Atlantic Ocean, Airmen here have a sense of urgency and readiness and they "make it happen."

"In no time, we took the jets off the runway and showed them where to park," said Staff Sgt. Sean McGrath, a 65th OSS transient alert team member.

While some Airmen of the transient alert team, who are mostly crew chiefs, said they see this visit as an opportunity to do what they are trained to do. Some said it allows them to interact with the military of other nations while stationed at Lajes.

"Dealing with international air force members, even though there could be a complete culture difference, is very exciting because it creates an avenue for us to find a common ground to communicate and learn from each other," Sergeant Ramon said. "Such a visit helps us to learn from what they do best and for them to see how we do business."

Making sure the pilots and their crew members want to keep coming back is a goal of the 65th OSS Airmen.

"We'd like crew that pass through Lajes (Field) to know that our service here is first-class," said Maj. Robert Sweeney, the 65th OSS director of operations. "We would also like them to come back here knowing that they will be well taken care of, no matter what time of the day, the weather and where they are going . Whether they are heading to the States or overseas toward deployments or their countries, we would want them to feel like this could be a second home for them."