“We must have a deep understanding of our competitor’s mindset and anticipate their future moves,” said Col. Jared “Jabba” Hutchinson, 414th Combat Training Squadron commander. “Red Flag allows us and our allies to perform in scenarios to prepare us should we ever be called on to engage a peer level adversary in combat. They will be able to lean on the experience they have built in this exercise and avoid making the mistakes during real-world situations.”

Red Flag 22-2 runs March 4-18, 2022.

As the lead wing of Red Flag 22-2, the 366th Fighter Wing from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, will organize more than 55 aircraft that will go up against the 57th Operations Groupís dedicated multi-domain aggressor force.

Assets such as the B-1B Bomber, E-3 Sentry, E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, EA-18G Growler, Royal Saudi Air Force F-15SA Advanced Fighter Aircraft, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, HC-130J Combat King II, KC-135 Stratotanker, HH-60 Pave Hawk and MQ-9 Reapers will participate in complex mission scenarios against aggressor forces.

Participants, to include around 14 units with approximately 1,750 personnel from the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy and Air National Guard, Royal Saudi Air Force and Republic of Singapore Air Force, will have a primary focus on combat missions, mission commander upgrades and flag-unique experiences that contribute most to readiness and partnering. The coalition core function forces will gain a significant combat advantage by being exposed to realistic, representative, relevant and integrated tactical experiences. The U.S. and allied forces train to ensure smooth integration and shared understanding.

Red Flag 22-2 will concentrate on three primary themes to include defensive, offensive, and counter-air techniques. Each fighter type that participates in 22-2 will have to execute their best tactics and build dynamic agreements with others so that they can efficiently and safely achieve the overall objectives of the mission.

“We’ll continue to lead and learn in America’s premier air combat exercise,” said Hutchinson. “Take good notes, pass your feedback, and build a winning team with confidence under fire, integrated leadership, and warfighter culture. Fly safe with sound aircraft-specific tactics, fight as core function teams, and win with mutual support as integrated teams.”

Red Flag gives aircrews an opportunity to experience advanced, relevant, and realistic combat-like situations in a controlled environment to increase their ability to complete missions and safely return home. It also prepares maintenance personnel, ground controllers, space and cyber operators to support those missions within the same tactical environment.

The 414th Combat Training Squadron is responsible for executing Red Flag and this exercise is just one of a series of advanced training programs administered at Nellis and on the NTTR by organizations assigned to the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center.

Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, organizes 55+ aircraft against the 57th Ops Group’s dedicated multi-domain aggressor force during Red Flag 22-2 @NellisAFB, Nev.

RF-22-2 will cover three main themes: defensive, offensive, & counter-air techniques. https://t.co/KDm1rpT3SA @USAF_ACC

— U.S. Air Force (@usairforce) March 9, 2022