combat aircraft

The authors would like to thank the public affairs

offi cers of Eielson AFB, Joint Base Elmendorf-

Richardson and Fort Wainwright for their support

in the preparation of this feature.

Above left

to right:

The 36th FS

fl ew its Block 40

F-16CMs with both

Sniper targeting

pods and ASQ-213

HARM Targeting

System pods.

CH-47F 07-08725

of B Company

1-52nd AVN,

taxies out for a

‘Red Flag’ mission.

Below: UH-60L

90-26299 and

CH-47F 09-08068

ready for a

combined ‘Red

Flag’ mission.

Eyes on high

This particular exercise drew participation

from a NATO E-3A AWACS from

Geilenkirchen Air Base’s Airborne Early

Warning and Control Force. The E-3A

Component’s two operational Sentry

squadrons have a total of 30 multi-

national aircrews from 15 of NATO’s 29

member nations.

‘This exercise also allows us to reinforce

our long-standing alliance with NATO

partners [and their] multi-national  ight

crew added a lot of diversity to the

exercise,’ said Lt Col Travis Ruhl, the 353rd

Combat Training Squadron commander.

Radar technician SSgt Ryan Goll added,

‘Tracking ‘enemy’  ghters and actually

getting our communications gear

jammed — this is more than your typical

sortie or exercise.’

The chance to operate in Alaska, with

a high-threat scenario, is a valuable

training opportunity for the NATO E-3

team, which alternated missions with

the Elmendorf-based E-3Bs of the 962nd

Airborne Air Control Squadron.

JBER, near Anchorage, co-hosts ‘Red

Flag — Alaska’. Though geographically

separated by approximately 250 miles,

assets from the two bases converge in

the airspace, and personnel connect

through secure teleconferencing for

mass brie ngs and debrie ngs. While

‘18-1’ was under way, Elmendorf ’s main

runway was out of service, which limited

 ying activity there. Indeed, the resident

F-22 Raptors had been deployed away

to Nellis and Tyndall while the work was

being completed, thus rendering them

unable to join the local action.

However, JBER still had a role to play.

Coming from Honolulu, Hawaii, were

two C-17A Globemaster IIIs of the 535th

Airlift Squadron. This squadron is part

of the 15th Wing, a unit of the Hawaii

Air National Guard at Hickam AFB. They

contributed to airlift missions alongside

the C-17s of the 517th Airlift Squadron

at Elmendorf.

As the number of international threats

is increasing and constantly evolving,

and given the increasing emphasis on

the high-end  ght, three more ‘Red

Flag — Alaska’ exercises this year re ect

the demand for this kind of training

opportunity. With global participation,

‘Red Flag — Alaska’ is realistic, e ective

and cutting-edge. With the arrival of

F-35s at Eielson in the coming years, it’s

a situation that is only likely to evolve

and expand.

EXERCISE REPORT // ‘RED FLAG — ALASKA’

30 September 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

24-30 Red Flag Alaska C.indd 30 19/07/2018 12:26