The role of the enemy or the “Red Force” is played by the Aggressor Squadrons, which now include some civilian contractors as well as Nellis’ own 64th Aggressor Squadron (F-16s). The 65th Aggressors which appear in some of the images in this article flying F-15Cs and Ds were disbanded in 2014. Aggressor pilots are trained in, and fly with the tactics used by potential enemy nations allowing U.S. and allied pilots to experience an air combat simulation that truly feels like the real thing.

Red Flag typically takes place four times per year and each exercise includes a wide variety of aircraft, any or all of them from the USAF, USN, USMC and the armed forces of U.S. allied nations, who join together to make up the “Blue Force”. While Red Flag is air to air combat training, it includes much more than just fighter planes and pilots, but includes all of the assets needed to facilitate an air war including a variety of attack, fighter and bomber aircraft (F-15E, F-16, F/A-18, A-10, B-1, B-2, etc.), reconnaissance aircraft (Predator, Global Hawk, RC-135, U-2), electronic warfare aircraft (EC-130s, EA-6Bs and F-16CJs), air superiority aircraft (F-22, F-15C, etc), airlift support (C-130, C-17), search and rescue aircraft (HH-60, HC-130, CH-47), aerial refueling aircraft (KC-130,

KC-135, KC-10, etc), Command and Control aircraft (E-3, E-8C, E-2C, etc) as well as ground based Command and Control, Space, and Cyber Forces.

In addition to the Red and Blue Forces, there is also a “White Force” that utilizes the Nellis Air Combat Training System (NACTS) to monitor the mock combat between the red and blue forces. This extremely sophisticated monitoring system allows commanders, safety observers and exercise directors to keep an eye on the action as it takes place as well as keeping score of mock “kills” during the battle.

There is also a portion of the training that includes familiarizing pilots with enemy aircraft and surface to air weapons in the Threat Center, sometimes referred to as the “petting zoo”. This gives pilots a chance to get up close and personal with many of the weapons they will be targeting from the air.

All four branches of the U.S. military, their Guard/Reserve components and the air forces of other countries participate in each RED FLAG exercise. Since 1975, 28 countries have joined the U.S. in these exercises. Several other countries have participated as observers. RED FLAG has provided training for more than 440,000 military personnel, including more than 145,000 aircrew members flying more than 385,000 sorties and logging more than 660,000 hours of flying time.