Exercise Red Flag Nellis 24-1 has concluded after three weeks of high-intensity air combat training at Nevada and airspace in the southwest of the United States.
Working with counterparts from the United States and the United Kingdom, RAAF deployed six F-35A Lightning II aircraft to Red Flag Nellis for the first time, along with an air battle management team to coordinate the missions.
About 3000 personnel (including 150 from RAAF) conducted a simulated fifth-generation air campaign in the challenging environment of a congested training airspace.
Commanding Officer 3 Squadron Wing Commander Adrian Kiely said the exercise helped to ensure RAAF F-35As could meet Defence Strategic Review capability priorities.
“The F-35A is the world’s most advanced operational strike fighter, but its full potential is realised when it’s integrated within a wider network of sensors and systems like we see at Exercise Red Flag Nellis,” Wing Commander Kiely said.
“The mission scenarios require deep planning and coordination to overcome a highly sophisticated air defence network, or precise integration across many domains for us to reach a distant target, all in the face of live and simulated threats.
“Exercise Red Flag Nellis 24-1 provided a challenging environment for the participant nations involved, testing our interoperability and allowing us to better understand what we each bring to the fight.”
Commanding Officer 114 Mobile Control and Reporting Unit Wing Commander Peter Mole led the RAAF Tactical Command and Control Team that coordinated and directed missions during the exercise.
“There are few opportunities for us to work alongside the United States and the United Kingdom in an exercise as sophisticated as Red Flag Nellis, so this is a unique experience for many,” Wing Commander Mole said.
“Each mission is recorded and immediately debriefed, which allows participants to better understand how the wider mission played out and the outcome of their decision-making.
“We leave Exercise Red Flag Nellis 24-1 with a better understanding of how our tactics and techniques would work in a modern air campaign, and assuredness that we can easily integrate with other nations in the future.”
