Red Flag 16-1: The RAAF, the RAF and the USAF Train to Operate in Contested Airspace

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
01/31/2016

01/31/2015: The Red Flag exercise is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States, its allies, and coalition partners.

Red Flag is conducted on the vast bombing and gunnery ranges of the 2.9M acre Nevada Test and Training Range.

It is one of a series of advanced training programs administered by the United States Air Force Warfare Center and executed by the 414th Combat Training Squadron, both located at Nellis AFB, Nev.

The US Air Force (USAF), the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) are participating in a national air-to-air combat training exercise, code-named Red Flag 16-1, at the Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada, US.

Red Flag is a US Pacific Air Forces Command-led large force employment exercise designed to train pilots and other flight crew members from the US, Nato, and other allied countries for real air combat situations.

The 18-day exercise will include aircraft from 24 different USAF squadrons.
Additionally, the RAAF has deployed six F/A-18F Super Hornet twin-engine carrier-based multirole fighter aircraft, six F/A-18 A/B Hornet aircraft and an AP-3C Orion equipped with features to track down and sink enemy submarines using torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, and an E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C.

The exercise will see participation of 410 RAAF personnel.

Scheduled to conclude on 12 February, Red Flag 16-1 will involve a battle space recreation to enable the air force personnel to display their abilities in a deployed scenario. It is held four times annually.

The exercise is part of a series of advanced training programmes administered at Nellis AFB and on the Nevada Test and Training Range by organisations assigned to the US Air Force Warfare Center.

Divided into two teams, namely Blue Forces and Red Forces, the participants perform counter air, precision strike and offensive air support in packages of up to 100 aircraft during each exercise.

Credit:99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs:1/27/16

Preliminary list for Red Flag 16-1
1.95 FS Raptors “TY Mr Bones”
2.131 FS F-15C “Mass Air Guard”
3.194 FS F-15C “Griffins CA ANG”
4.3 SQN FGR-4 “Cockatrice RAF “
5.157 FS F-16CJ “Swamp Fox  South Carolina ANG”
6.510 FS F-16Cm “Aviano buzzards”
7.VAQ 138 EA-18G “yellowjackets”
8.41 ECS EC-130
9.10 SQN (RAAF) AP-3C
10.9 BS B-1B ” Bats Dyess AFB
11.335 FS F-15E chiefs SJ
12.1 SQN (RAAF) F/A-18F ” Fighting first” Amberley AB”
13.75 SQN (RAAF) F/A-18A  Base Tindal
14.210 RQS HH-60G
15.79 RQS HC-130J
16.47 SQN (RAF) C-130J
17.38 RS RC-135V/W
18.12 ACCS E-8C
19.965 AACS E-3G
20.8 SQN (RAF) E-3D
21.5 SQN (RAF) R-1 Sentinel
22.2 SQN (RAAF) E-7A Wedgetail
23.VQ-1 EP-3C
24.VP-45 P-8 ” Pelicans “
25.VP-1 P-3

An Overview on NATO in 2015: Trident Juncture

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

01/31/2016: The 2015 annual NATO report provides an overview of  NATO activities in 2015.

Credit Video: Natochannel:1/27/16

Trident Juncture

According to a piece written by Murielle Delaporte and published 10/20/15 about

This exercise, the largest since 2002 Strong resolve, should not be read as a reaction to Russia’s recent behavior, since it has been in the making for the past two years, but as a demonstration of the Alliance’s readiness.

“Trident Juncture 2015 is to show NATO’s deterrence posture and its ability to adapt to any development or threat reflecting the Wales Summit’s objectives”, General Mercier explained a few days ago at a roundtable in Washington, D.C.

Meant to assess the Alliance’s capacities, readiness, speed and interoperability, TJ15 is to be considered a testbed for the Readiness Action Plan (RAP) and the recently implemented Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VHRJTF).But for General Mercier, it is “much more than a training exercise.”

TJ15 addresses three major goals:

First, the exercise focuses on a key flagship activity for NATO’s Connecting Forces Initiative (CFI) launched in the wake of the 2012 Chicago Summit.

TJ15 will bring together 17 national exercises:

“This is the key change compared to the 2002 exercise which I was part of,” stressed General Mercier, head of the NATO Transformation Command.

‘Many national exercises are going to be held under the same scenario, which makes it very interesting and realistic, since the same crisis can affect both sides of the Atlantic.

Trident Juncture brings a strong value added to them.

Second, the task of preparing to connect these exercises and a large number of forces and capacities has just ended and was done via a Command Post Exercise.
This CPX lasted from October 3rd  through  October 16th and involved Allied Joint Force Command Headquarters Brunssum and several other headquarters.

A certification process of these headquarters, as well as of the Visegrad European Battle Group[2], is to be completed during this period.

For General Mercier, “the connection and the coordination which took place between Canada and the European countries participating in the exercise worked even better than expected and is something we can build on for the future.”

Third, TJ15 has to be considered as a “laboratory for NATO’s new ideas and new concepts,” says SACT.

For the very first time, industries will be involved in the course of the exercise as observers, in order to better comprehend the battlefield requirements expressed by the armed forces.

As many as 35 firms will be monitoring the exercise and such participation will be addressed at the previously-mentioned Industry Forum.

For the complete report, see the following:

20160128_SG_AnnualReport_2015_en

 

The RAAF in Red Flag 16-1

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
01/30/2016

01/30/2016: Exercise Red Flag 16-1 is an air combat training exercise which centers on the large force employment of aircraft in a high-end warfighting environment.

RF16-1 is being conducted from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, United States, from 25 January to 12 February 2016.

The aircraft will participate in the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), and involve participants from the United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy (USN), Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Credit: Australian Ministry of Defense:1/27/16

Rafales for Egypt

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

01/30/2016: The video shows the arrival of the first three Rafale fighter jets for the Egyptian Air Force in July 21, 2015.

The first three jets arrived in Egypt in July 2015 as part of the deal, which consists of 24 Rafale jets and a FREMM (Frégate Européenne Multi-Missions) multipurpose frigate. The FREMM frigate, the Tahya Misr, was delivered in June 2015.

The Rafale continues a long tradition of French aircraft serving in the Egyptian Air Force.

“This contract constitutes a new milestone in the cooperation between Dassault Aviation and Egypt since the 1970s – more than 40 years of an exemplary partnership marked by commitment and mutual trust.

After the Mirage 5, the Alpha Jet and the Mirage 2000, the Rafale is the fourth Dassault aircraft to fly in Egyptian colors,” said Dassault Chairman and CEO Eric Trappier at the initial ceremony for the delivery of the first aircraft in 2015.

“Egypt is the first export customer for the Rafale, as it was for the Mirage 2000. We are very pleased with this partnership, which over time has shown its solidity and ensured the durability of the historical links between our two countries.” Trappier continued.

For Egypt, the agreement is also a show of support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who overthrew his Islamist predecessor in 2013 and wants to break a US monopoly over arms sales to Cairo. The overall deal with Egypt also includes contracts for missiles and for an FREMM multi-mission frigate from naval group DCNS.

Credit for Video: Daily News Egypt

According to our partner defenceWeb, the Egyptian air force has received a second batch of three Rafales from France.

The aircraft were all two-seat Rafale DM variants – on 16 February 2015, Egypt ordered 16 two-seat DMs and eight single-seat Rafale EMs.

The first three delivered were also two-seaters and arrived in Egypt on 21 July 2015, allowing them to take part in the opening of the expanded Suez Canal in August.

The Rafales will be operated by the 203rd Tactical Fighter Wing ‘Storm’/34 Squadron ‘Wild Wolves’.

The arrival of the second batch of Rafales this month is shown in the video below: