Posts Tagged ‘343 Squadron STAR’

The Red Flag exercises, held periodically at the Nellis Air Force Base since 1975, are very realistic aerial war games. The purpose is to give pilots from the U.S., NATO and other allied countries an opportunity to practice and refine their skills for real combat situations. This includes the use of “enemy” hardware and live ammunition for bombing exercises within the Nellis complex. The exercises with flares and all kinds of aircraft can make a spectacular show, especially at night. There are usually two or three sorties per day (except on weekends): One or two sorties during daytime and one in the evening or at night. The night exercises usually inlude only one half of the daytime forces.

There are two teams, the good guys (Blue Team) and the aggressors (Red Team). The Red Team is composed of Nellis AFB-based pilots specially trained for this purpose, flying F-15 and F-16 aircraft. The Blue Team is composed of the various guest “players” in their native aircraft.

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