Ellsworth members support Red Flag-Alaska

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kimberly Moore Limrick
  • 28th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
Editor's note: This article is Part 1 of a series

As the lead wing for Red Flag-Alaska, the first of Ellsworth's six B-1s arrived at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska, April 3; by the start of the exercise, scheduled for April 5 through 21, 173 Ellsworth Airmen will be in place.

This Pacific Air Forces-directed field training exercise provides simulated air combat conditions on the Pacific Alaskan Range Complex. Red Flag-Alaska, previously known as Cope Thunder beginning in 1976, was renamed and improved in 2006.

One improvement from CT to RF-A is international participation in every exercise. Now, each RF-A exercise includes European, African, South American, and/or Asian participation.

Another improvement is the presence of a dedicated aggressor unit in RF-A. This provides the most realistic simulated combat environment. Additionally, the aggressor role expands training opportunities to include ground, space and cyberspace.

RF-A enables aviation units to sharpen their combat skills by flying ten simulated combat sorties in a realistic threat environment. Additionally, the training allows them to exchange tactics, techniques and procedures, and improve interoperability.

RF-A also provides training for deployed maintenance and support personnel in sustainment of a large-force deployed air operation.

This large-force operation has more than 1,500 participants with more than 80 aircraft.
Alaska's size enables the military to have the largest air-ground training complex in America, 67,000 square miles. The Pacific Alaska Range Complex provides more than 400 types of targets and more than 30 threat simulators.

Ellsworth will continue to cover RF-A as events develop.