EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska -- Residents of Interior Alaska may see and hear increased flying activity as the first RED FLAG-Alaska of the calendar year, RF-A 16-1, begins and runs through May 13, 2016.
RF-A provides U.S. and allied pilots, aircrews and operational support personnel the opportunity to train and improve their air combat skills in preparation for a myriad of worldwide contingencies.
The first of four exercises planned for this calendar year includes more than 80 aircraft and hundreds of participants, to include the Eielson’s F-16 Aggressor aircraft; F-15 Eagle tactical fighters and KC-135 refueling aircraft from Kadena Air Base, Japan; F-16 Fighting Falcons from Kunsan AB, Republic of Korea; 137 U.S. Navy EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft out of Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Wa.; Su-30MKI fighter aircraft from Sirsa AB, India; Jaguar attack aircraft from Ambala AB, India; IL-78MKI refueling aircraft from Agra AB, India; KC-135 refueling aircraft at Eielson; HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and special operations Airmen from JBER and Fort Wainwright, Alaska, as well as airmen with the Indonesian air force.
The exercises are conducted in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex (JPARC), the largest instrumented air, ground and electronic combat training range in the world at more than 65,000 square miles, and in special use airspace across the state, with air operations flown out of Eielson AFB and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.