The latest Red Flag exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev., is set to kick off Jan. 25 with more than 80 aircraft from dozens of units across the US Air Force, US Navy, Royal Air Force, and Royal Australian Air Force. Red Flag 16-1 will run through Feb. 12, according to a Nellis release. This iteration of the Air Force’s top air combat exercise will include a reconnaissance element with RQ-4 Global Hawks and U-2s, both from Beale AFB, Calif., B-2s from Whiteman AFB, Mo., and F-22s from Tyndall AFB, Fla., along with several other types of fighter, command and control, refueling, airlift, and electronic attack aircraft. More than 80 aircraft will takeoff from Nellis twice per day, remaining in the air over the Nevada Test and Training Range for up to five hours. This is the first of four Red Flag exercises scheduled for Nellis this calendar year.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.