US Air Force,
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE: The 416th Flight Test Squadron conquered the vast bombing and gunnery ranges of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., as they participated in Red Flag 09-2, marking the first time an Air Force Materiel Command unit has ever deployed and participated in the exercise.
“Red Flag allowed us to provide the most thorough, integrated evaluation of an F-16 software release in the 30-year history of the combined test force,” said Lt. Col. Todd Ericson, 416th FLTS commander. “We also saved nearly $100,000 in range costs by conducting live air-to-ground weapons delivery evaluations at Red Flag as opposed to scheduling a dedicated range time as an exclusive event.”
Administered by the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center and Nellis AFB through the 414th Combat Training Squadron involving the air forces of the United States and the United Kingdom, Red Flag is the Air Force's premier combat training exercise. The most recent exercise took place from Jan. 26 to Feb. 6
Col. William Thornton, 412th Training Wing commander, said he was proud of his team's results.
He said the deployment was critical in conducting better and more realistic testing, saving taxpayer dollars. “We could not have replicated this intense level of testing here at Edwards with all the assets assembled for Red Flag,” Colonel Thornton said. “Ultimately this deployment will result in increased combat capability to the warfighter in less time and cost.”
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Kenny Booth prepares to taxi an F-16 Fighting Falcon in support of Red Flag 09-2 Feb. 4 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Red Flag is a multi-national exercise providing a realistic environment to practice combat scenarios. The experience gained during the exercise is vital to the survival of aircrews in combat. Mr. Booth is a crew chief assigned to the 416th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Nadine Y. Barclay)
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The exercise provides realistic training in a combined air, ground and electronic threat environment while providing for a free exchange of ideas between forces. The 416th FLTS team also used the Red Flag environment to evaluate the F-16 Fighting Falcons' latest operating system, M5.1+ software.
“The Red Flag environment allowed us to evaluate the interoperability of our five M5.1+ F-16 Fighting Falcons with other aircraft, such as F-22 Raptor, B-2 Spirit and MQ-1 Predator,” said Colonel Ericson. “We also assessed the aircraft's performance in both a (Global Positioning System) and electronic jamming environment — all of which would have been impossible to accomplish at Edwards for both logistical and cost reasons.”
Through the Red Flag exercise, the 416th FLTS was able to fly 54 sorties at a cost equivalent to flying eight to 10 integrated systems evaluation sorties at Edwards.
An ISE is an evaluation of the military utility of the aircraft where test pilots use all the systems as they would be in combat prior to providing a fielding recommendation to operational test.
The combined test force was able to evaluate the aircraft in missions currently flown by the F-16 such as defensive-counter air, interdiction, suppression and destruction of enemy air defenses, time-sensitive targeting and close-air support.
Deploying to Red Flag provided an opportunity for the 416th FLTS to expand their view of the software and see the enhancements in combat capability proven on each sortie, Colonel Ericson said.
