The Royal Australian Air Force has successfully completed Exercise Red Flag Alaska 21-3, a two-week bilateral training exercise with the United States Air Force. The exercise, held from August 12 – 27, was an advanced large force employment activity aimed to optimise the integration of capabilities and deepen the relationship of coalition forces. RAAF Task Group Commander Group Captain Matthew McCormack said personnel were put through their paces within a premier training environment. RAAF deployed E-7A Wedgetail, F-35A Lightning II and EA-18G Growler aircraft to Alaska from Eielson Air Force Base and Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson.
“Exercise Red Flag Alaska exposed crews to complex and realistic war-like scenarios to ensure they are as prepared as possible for any combat situation. It is essential that the entire team, including crews in the air and support personnel on the ground, can operate together in an austere environment seamlessly. Our lethality as a strike capability relies on effective integration with our partner nations, so by training together we get a deeper understanding of each other’s tactics and can capitalise on each other’s advantages. This occurs primarily through practice and this is exactly what we achieved during Red Flag Alaska,” Group Captain McCormack said.
“Multiple United States Air Force platforms participated in the exercise, including F-35A, F-22 Raptors, F-16 Falcons, as well as F-15C Eagles from Kadena Air Base, Japan. The participation from both fourth- and fifth-generation assets from Australia and the United States meant we were able to integrate with some of our most high-end advanced capabilities to solve really tactically challenging scenarios. That’s really critical for us from a warfighting capability to sustain our military readiness, not only as a nation, but as a partnership.,” Colonel Ferrell said.
The first iteration of Exercise Red Flag Alaska involving RAAF F-35A Lightning II and EA-18G Growlers training alongside USAF capabilities. RAAF personnel were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before their departure, were subject to mandatory screening and testing, as well as mandatory quarantine on return to Australia. This was important to ensure Australia could continue essential training, critical to preparedness of forces. This was an opportunity to test RAAF deployment capabilities and how they can operate under contested circumstances, including the COVID-19 environment.
