View allAll Photos Tagged Redflags
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Rick Moore, 353rd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron productions superintendent, performs a pre-flight inspection on a C-130J Super Hercules from Kadena Air Force Base, Japan, during Red Flag-Alaska 18-3 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2018. RF-A serves as an ideal platform for international engagement and the exercise has a long history of including allies and partners, ultimately enabling all involved to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures while improving interoperability. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Curt Beach)
U.S. Air Force crew chiefs from the 144th Fighter Wing, Fresno Air National Guard Base, California, perform maintenance on an F-15C Eagle during Red Flag-Alaska 18-3 at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2018. RF-A is a Pacific Air Forces-directed field training exercise for U.S. and international forces flown under simulated air combat conditions. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Curt Beach)
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Christopher Szutenbach, 353rd Special Operations Maintenance Squadron crew chief, connects a power cart to a C-130J Super Hercules from Kadena Air Force Base, Japan, during Red Flag-Alaska at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Aug. 13, 2018. RF-A is a Pacific Air Forces-directed field training exercise for U.S. and international forces flown under simulated air combat conditions. RF-A exercises are focused on improving the combat readiness of U.S. and international forces and providing training for units preparing for air expeditionary force taskings. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Curt Beach)
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- An F-16 aggressor aircraft takes off from the Nellis flight line during a Red Flag exercise, March 3, 2010. Red Flag is a realistic combat training exercise involving the air forces of the United States and its allies. The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas. (U.S. Air Force photo/by Staff Sgt. William P. Coleman)
My wife and I had some free time so we decided to drive down to Las Vegas for the Red Flag exercise in mid-March 2025. The weather forecast was good and there seemed to be a decent line-up of participating aircraft. Unfortunately both items fell short. The sky conditions were excellent but the weather sucked. Very high winds affected some of the fighters. The first afternoon we were there all F-16s and F-35s were grounded due to crosswinds. Also unfortunate was that Flex departures were cancelled at the last minute so the planes had to do a straight out departure - this sucked for photographers. In the late afternoon the recovery shifted to landings over Cheyenne Avenue. This was our first visit there in about a year and we couldn't believe the change. It was a mix of a homeless camp, scrap yard, bombed out Gaza, and just a totally trashy area. Burned out cars and car parts were everywhere. We didn't feel safe there despite being among other plane spotters. Wow. I took these photos in mid-March 2025.
Re aircraft activity - it seemed a lot lower than at prior Red Flags. There were a lot of Nellis resident aircraft but not too many visitors. It was a decent trip but not a great one.
U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Edward Hauschild (left), 140th Maintenance Squadron, Colorado Air National Guard, shadows Senior Airman Ty Mcnew (center), 140th Maintenance Squadron, as he conducts preflight-checks on an F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet from the 120th Fighter Squadron at Buckley Air Force Base, Colo., before a night training mission at Red Flag 14-1, at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., on Feb. 04, 2014. Combat units come together from the United States and its allied countries to engage in realistic combat training scenarios within Nellis’ 2.9 million acre Test and Training Range Complex. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Wolfram M. Stumpf/Released)
An F-35A Lightning II pilot from the 388th Fighter Wing, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, prepares to take-off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 24, 2017, during Red Flag 17-1. While deployed to Red Flag, the F-35 will train with fourth- and fifth-generation platforms, and provide offensive and defensive counter air, suppression of enemy air defenses. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natasha Stannard)
Pilots with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 121 exit F-35B Lightning II’s after conducting training during exercise Red Flag 16-3 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, July 20, 2016. This is the first time that the fifth generation fighter has participated in the multiservice air-to-air combat training exercise.
NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- F-16s from the Pakistan Air Force fly near a KC-135 after refueling at Red Flag July 20, 2010.Approximately 100 Pakistan air force F-16B pilots and support personnel are participating in Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. This is the PAF’s first time participating in this event. Red Flag-Nellis is a realistic combat training exercise held four times annually involving the armed forces of the U.S. and its allies. It provides a peacetime “battlefield” within which combat forces can train. Inside that battlefield, aircrews train to fight, survive and win together. The exercise is conducted on the 15,000-square-mile Nevada Test and Training Range, north of Las Vegas, Nev. (U.S. Air Force photo/ A1C Daniel Phelps)
While we were in the Hefei area, we scored a ride in a most unusual car, the Mao era Red Flag.
Stalin presented Mao with five Russian-built limousines in the early 1950s and Mao liked them so much he decided China should build its own. Virtually hand made, the cars sported a red pennant-shaped hood ornament and on the front, a sign with the Chinese characters hongqi, meaning red flag, that was handwritten by Mao himself. Beginning in the 1960s, the Redflag car was designated for the use of Chinese officials with ranks higher than vice-minister and visiting foreign heads of state who were driven to meet the Chairman in these cars.
A 1st Fighter Wing F-22 Raptor pilot conducts a walk-around his aircraft before boarding during Red Flag 17-1 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan 26, 2017. The Raptors out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., are working alongside the F-35A Lightning II to suppress enemy targets and provide targeting and cover for fourth-generation aircraft. (U.S Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Natasha Stannard)