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Two Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft have returned from Exercise Red Flag in Alaska where they participated in the world’s most advanced international air combat training activity.
Fifty-nine personnel from Number 42 Wing at RAAF Base Williamtown participated in world-class air combat training in the skies above Alaska for two weeks from 7 to 22 August.
Officer Commanding Number 42 Wing, Group Captain Antony Martin said that Exercise Red Flag Alaska is one of the biggest exercises the new E-7A Wedgetail aircraft participate in each year, involving a series of air combat and surveillance scenarios that test operational air and ground crews to the highest level.
“This exercise was important as we move towards declaring final operational capability,” said GPCAPT Martin.
“Red Flag also provided excellent opportunities for our personnel to integrate with a joint task force to learn how other countries operate.”
Red Flag Alaska is led by United States Pacific Air Forces Command and is designed to replicate a high-end combat environment. Aircrew were exposed to large force employment on a scale not possible in Australia, when they performed counter air, precision strike and offensive air support in groups of up to 60 aircraft.
Red Flag Alaska saw participants from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and others come together in a large-forces exercise conducted in Alaska to simulate an air combat war-time scenario. Aircrews operated in a 67,000 square-mile Joint Alaska Pacific Range Complex, which offers adequate space and ranges for crews to simulate full-scale aerial battles.